Local
March to begin Tuesday at IHOP to remember LGBT shooting, assault victims
Gathering to be held at Cobalt
The International House of Pancakes restaurant in Columbia Heights (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Friends of one of the victims of three separate incidents of anti-LGBT violence last week have scheduled a march for 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, outside the International House of Pancakes restaurant in Columbia Heights to show support for the three victims and others targeted for hate violence.
“This is a march to shows solidarity and support for all the victims of hate violence, whether they be lesbian, gay, bi, or transgender,” said Kyan Brady, a friend of a gay man who was beaten and robbed in one of the incidents.
Brady said it will begin 7 p.m. outside the IHOP restaurant where one of the victims, a 31-year-old gay man, was shot in the abdomen at about 6 a.m. Sunday, March 11 by an unidentified male suspect who called the victim anti-gay names. The restaurant is located at 14th and Irving streets, N.W. steps away from the Columbia Heights Metro station.
According to Brady and other organizers, the march will travel east on Irving St. to Georgia Ave., N.W., the site of the second incident, where a 29-year-old gay man – who is a friend of the organizers — was attacked and beaten by three unidentified male suspects about 9:30 p.m. Monday, March 12. Police say the suspects called the victim anti-gay names as they beat him.
Police say they found the victim three blocks north of where the attack began, at Georgia Ave. and Morton St., N.W. The victim reported he was robbed of his cell phone, iPad, and wallet at the Morton St. location, according to police. Police say they aren’t sure if the robbery was committed by the group of suspects who attacked the victim at the first location or by a different group of male suspects.
Both gay male victims remain in the hospital, with the shooting victim suffering from liver damage caused by the gunshot wound and the victim from the Georgia Ave. attack recovering from surgery needed to repair a broken jaw and additional head injuries.
The third victim, a transgender woman, was attacked and knocked unconscious at West Virginia Ave. and Mt. Olivet Rd., N.E. just before midnight on March 12, police said. The victim was treated and released from a hospital.
Unlike the first two incidents, which police listed as anti-gay hate crimes, police said they lacked sufficient evidence to classify the attack against the transgender woman as an ant-trans hate crime. However, a police report and Assistant Police Chief Peter Newsham said investigators are looking into the possibility that the attack was motivated by hate.
Organizers of the march, which is being promoted on Facebook, say it will travel from Georgia Ave. and Morton Streets back to 14th St., where it will head south to R St, N.W. From there it will turn right on R St. and travel to 17th Street and end at the gay bar Cobalt. Organizers say they will host a fundraiser at Cobalt for the gay male victim attacked at Georgia Ave. and Irving and Morton streets.
Virginia
Black transgender woman murdered in Va.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray killed in Petersburg on March 13
A Black transgender woman was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate she was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray, 42, shot to death inside a home in Petersburg. These initial media reports also misgendered her.
“My heart is shattered and heavy with grief at the news of Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray’s murder — the first trans life stolen from us this year,” said Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs for the National Black Justice Coalition, in a statement.
Kirby York in her statement also criticized the media coverage of Sanchez-McCray’s murder.
“The early reports of Shyyell’s death stripped her of her identity by misgendering her, a deeply damaging and persistent failure by law enforcement and media that haunts these cases again and again,” she said. “Misgendering doesn’t just erase a person’s truth — it can derail justice entirely, or worse, bury a case in silence as investigators chase the wrong identity, the wrong face, the wrong name.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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