Local
Orange edges Biddle, wins D.C. primary
Supporters say he will be an LGBT ally despite a low rating by GLAA


Vincent Orange won the Democratic primary for City Council after absentee ballots were counted. The April 3 race was initially too close to call as Orange led Sekou Biddle by just 523 votes.
D.C. Council member Vincent Orange (D-At-Large), who emerged last Friday as the winner in the city’s April 3 Democratic primary, will be a strong supporter of the LGBT community, according to gay Democratic activist Barry Doneker.
Doneker, a longtime Orange supporter, is first vice president of the Ward 5 Democrats and treasurer of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city’s largest LGBT political group.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he will be a good friend of our community,” said Doneker.
The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics on April 13 declared Orange the winner over Democratic rival Sekou Biddle in a four-candidate race after it completed the counting of absentee and provisional ballots.
On the day following the April 3 primary, the board said the race was too close to call, with Orange leading Biddle by just 523 votes. As many as 3,000 absentee and provisional ballots remained to be counted.
When those ballots were counted, Orange’s lead over Biddle increased to 1,746 votes, with a final tally of 40.39 percent for Orange and 37.41 percent for Biddle.
A Washington Blade analysis of voter precincts shows that Biddle beat Orange in 12 of 14 precincts considered to have high concentrations of LGBT residents.
The Stein Club didn’t make an endorsement in the race after no candidate was able to obtain a required 60 percent vote from the membership for an endorsement. Club members were divided between Biddle, Orange and Democratic challenger Peter Shapiro, who received 10.56 percent of the vote in the primary.
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, a nonpartisan group, gave Biddle a rating of +5.5 percent on LGBT-related issues compared to a +0.5 percent rating for Orange. The group’s ratings are based on a scale of +10, the highest possible rating, to -10, the lowest rating.
Doneker said the GLAA rating didn’t accurately reflect Orange’s overall support and commitment on LGBT issues. GLAA says Orange lost rating points due to his support for a school voucher program, which the group says it opposes because it provides government funds to private religious schools that aren’t covered by the city’s non-discrimination laws. Orange also lost points for his opposition to cultivation centers for medical marijuana and licenses for nude dance clubs in Ward 5, and his initial support for making permanent prostitution free zones.
LGBT activists say the existing “prostitution free zones” law has been used to unfairly target transgender women for police harassment and arrest. Orange said he changed his mind and came out against making the prostitution free zones permanent.
Doneker points to Orange’s past support on issues such as funding for the city’s LGBT community center and his role as co-sponsor of a bill to make the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs a permanent part of the city government. In 2006, Orange came out against a same-sex marriage law for D.C. He later changed his position on the issue and now says he fully supports the city law allowing same-sex couples to marry.
Virginia
Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note
Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.
Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.
The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.
“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.
She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.
Reid has strongly denied the reports.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
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