Local
Anti-violence activists to launch independent hate crime reporting project
Project will allow hate crime victims to report assaults to community organizations without going through the MPD
Hundreds joined a hastily assembled March 2012 demonstration organized after anti-gay violence in the nation's capital. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Anti-violence activists have begun to lay the groundwork for a project they maintain will provide a more accurate count of the number of anti-LGBT hate crimes and incidents of domestic violence among same-sex couples in Washington, D.C.
The initiative would allow victims to report attacks to service providers without going through the Metropolitan Police Department. Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, the D.C. Trans Coalition, the Rainbow Response Coalition and other member groups would enter information about crime victims, the location in which their assailants attacked them and other demographic information into a database.
GLOV Vice Chair Hassan Naveed told the Blade that the project remains in the preliminary planning stages. Rainbow Response Coalition Treasurer Paul Ashton said that the coalition hopes to send its initial data to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs at the end of the year. NCAVP would then use it in its 2012 report that it will release in 2013.
This would mark the first time that the agency would include District-specific data on LGBT bias-motivated crimes and domestic violence among same-sex couples in its annual publication.
“We can actually capture in our community what it looks like and determine who is a survivor of a hate crime, who is a survivor of intimate-partner violence,” said Ashton. “It really gives us the legs to advocate for policy changes as well as money to ensure service providers are trained properly to handle hate crimes and domestic violence cases in our community.”
MPD statistics show that there were 12 reported bias-related crimes based on sexual orientation from January through April, compared to two that were based on gender identity and expression.
The agency indicated that there were 43 reported bias-related crimes based on sexual orientation in 2011, compared to 35 in 2010 and 30 in 2009. MPD statistics show that there were 11 bias-related crimes based on gender identity and expression in the District in 2011, compared to 10 in 2010 and five in 2009.
Naveed was quick to applaud what he described as MPD’s improved outreach to immigrants and LGBT Washingtonians. He said he always encourages victims to report hate crimes to the police, but he stressed that many victims of anti-LGBT bias attacks remain afraid to come forward to the police because of their immigration status or previous experiences with law enforcement.
Naveed further stressed that the MPD officers who refused to take a report of an anti-gay attack against five lesbians outside the Columbia Heights Metro station last July and other high-profile incidents can dissuade victims of anti-LGBT bias crimes from going to the police.
“We want to create a process accessible to people who can go and report hate crimes to service providers in the city,” said Naveed. “GLOV’s efforts are to get a bigger picture of hate crimes in the city through these statistics. This would be an accessible way for the LGBT community to be able to report these hate crimes in a comfortable setting.”
MPD spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump responded to the reporting initiative late on Tuesday.
“We welcome input from community organizations, which can be a valuable source for information about people who have not reported information to the police,” she told the Blade. “However, it must be understood that Department figures are based on reported incidents that meet legal definitions of both a crime and a crime that was specifically motivated by a legally defined bias. More importantly, we would caution that we cannot help victims or protect the community if people do not make a report to the police. We urge anyone who has been a victim of crime or a hate crime to report it to police. Individuals who believe they have been the victim of a hate crime can contact police in a number of ways, including calling 911, reaching out to the relevant liaison office or an officer working in their neighborhood, or leaving a message on the Hate Crime Hotline.”
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
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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Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
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‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
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