Local
Mayor, Council members celebrate GLAA’s anniversary
President Miguel Tuason, Rick Rosendall, and GLAA co-founder Paul Kuntzler each paid tribute to Kameny’s role in the city’s and the nation’s LGBT rights movement
‘I have so much respect for the organization and the people and the cause that it sustains,’ Mayor Vincent Gray said of the GLAA. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and three members and one former member of the D.C. Council joined members and supporters of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance on April 26 to celebrate the group’s 41st anniversary.
“I am absolutely delighted to be here and I rarely miss a GLAA event because I have so much respect for the organization and the people and the cause that it sustains,” Gray told participants at the anniversary gathering, which was held at the Washington Plaza Hotel.
GLAA was founded in April 1971 by activists who worked on a first-of-its-kind election campaign for the late gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, who at the time ran as the first known openly gay candidate for Congress. Kameny also was one of the group’s founders. Today GLAA holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously active gay and lesbian civil rights organization in the U.S.
D.C. Council members Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), Michael Brown (I-At-Large) and former Council member Carol Schwartz presented the group with a resolution approved by the Council declaring April 26 as GLAA Day in the District of Columbia.
GLAA officials presented the group’s annual Distinguished Service Award to Jeffrey Richardson, director of the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs; Ruby Corado and Jeri Hughes, whom GLAA described as being among the city’s leading champions for transgender rights; and Will O’Bryan, managing editor of Metro Weekly magazine and former arts editor of the Washington Blade.
Also receiving the group’s Distinguished Service Award were the LGBT-oriented group Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, which has long played a key role in assisting with local LGBT events; and the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, which advocates for and provides services to LGBT youth.
GLAA President Miguel Tuason, the group’s vice president for political affairs, Rick Rosendall, and GLAA co-founder Paul Kuntzler each paid tribute to Kameny’s role in the city’s and the nation’s LGBT rights movement.
Virginia
VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade
Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday
The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.
View on Threads
Virginia
Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3
The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.
Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.
“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Voiceless ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ a spectacle of operatic proportions
VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade
Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment
DNC slams White House for slashing Fla. AIDS funding
Do not forget that Renee Good was queer
Supreme Court hears arguments in two critical cases on trans sports bans
Woman arrested for anti-gay assault at Alexandria supermarket
Honoring 50 queer, trans women with inaugural ‘Carrying Change’ awards
Ruby Corado sentenced to 33 months in prison
Visible and unapologetic: MAL brings the kink this weekend
-
U.S. Supreme Court4 days agoSupreme Court hears arguments in two critical cases on trans sports bans
-
Virginia5 days ago
Woman arrested for anti-gay assault at Alexandria supermarket
-
District of Columbia4 days ago
Ruby Corado sentenced to 33 months in prison
-
Commentary5 days ago
Honoring 50 queer, trans women with inaugural ‘Carrying Change’ awards
