Local
California man walks across country for LGBT rights
Richard Noble walked 2,700 miles from San Francisco to Jacksonville, Fla.
Richard Noble arrives in Jacksonville, Fla., last month after walking across the country for LGBT rights. (Photo courtesy of Richard Noble)
A California man who walked across the country to raise awareness of LGBT rights stressed on Friday that more needs to be done to protect Americans on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
“The opposition to our equality I think to a large part is dying off,” Richard Noble told the Blade while was in D.C. He visited the U.S. Supreme Court on the day the justices narrowly upheld President Obama’s health care reform law and attended a screening of “Bully” at the Department of Education and a Dupont Circle vigil for a lesbian couple who were shot in a Texas park last month while he was in the nation’s capital. “Those who do oppose [our equality] and fight it need to be given a little more strong arm consequences and pay for suffering. It must be very clear we must not tolerate attacks or discrimination in America. We’re over it. I think we’re all over it.”
Richard Noble in D.C. (Washington Blade photo by Blake Bergen)
Noble began 2,700 mile trek in San Francisco in March 2011, and ended last month in Jacksonville, Fla., with his dog Trinity, which he adopted in Texas. Noble, who made a point to carry the rainbow flag from coast-to-coast, stressed that the spate of LGBT teenager suicides in the fall if 2010 prompted him to walk across the country.
“It just came to me after all the suicides last year on bullying since I lived that,” he said, further stressing that he still has what he described as emotional scars. “We’re at a much different place where we can begin to sort of strengthen our demand for full equality with much more immediacy as we’ve seen with marriage equality in New York and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the passage of [the] Matthew Shepard hate crime bill.”
Noble also used the walk to highlight his support of the American Equality Bill, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to articles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.“Full equality is what all Americans are born with in this country and are entitled to and those rights have been taken away,” said Noble. “We will always understand that we are all free and equal and the march will go on until that dream is realized.”
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
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