Local
Marylanders for Marriage Equality opens offices, adds staff
Referendum supporters appear to have signatures to force vote
Marylanders for Marriage Equality. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The group opposing Maryland’s likely same-sex marriage referendum announced on Thursday that it has expanded its campaign infrastructure.
Marylanders for Marriage Equality announced that it has opened two campaign offices — in Baltimore and Silver Spring — and plans to have several others across the state. The group said that it has hired 12 staffers who will recruit volunteers and speak with voters throughout Maryland. Marylanders for Marriage Equality has also hired Chris Macneil as its field director and Rachael Stern as the new media director.
The organization has also promoted Manley Calhoun to deputy field director.
“We’re at a very good place right now,” said Josh Levin, campaign director for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. “We still have a lot of work to do and a long way until November but the momentum is clearly with us. The smart, strategic work of the campaign staff, coalition partners, legislators and governor is paying off.”
This announcement coincides with a Washington Post report that indicates referendum supporters have collected enough signatures to prompt a November vote on the same-sex marriage law that Gov. Martin O’Malley signed in March.
An unofficial count on the State Board of Elections’ website late Thursday shows that officials have validated 70,039 of the roughly 113,000 signatures that the Maryland Marriage Alliance submitted on May 29. Referendum supporters needed to collect 55,736 signatures by the end of this month to put the same-sex marriage law on the ballot.
Meanwhile, a May Public Policy Polling survey found that 57 percent of Maryland voters would support marriage rights for same-sex couples in the referendum. The same poll found that 55 percent of the state’s black voters back nuptials for gays and lesbians.
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
-
Commentary4 days ago
Honoring 50 queer, trans women with inaugural ‘Carrying Change’ awards
-
District of Columbia4 days ago
Ruby Corado sentenced to 33 months in prison
