Local
Howard County executive to co-host Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser
Ken Ulman and Byron Macfarlane to co-host Ellicott City event
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman will co-host Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser at parents’ home (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and gay Howard County Register of Wills Byron Macfarlane on Friday will co-host a fundraiser for the group defending Maryland’s same-sex marriage law.
County Council members Calvin Ball and Courtney Watson and state Del. Guy Guzzone (D-Howard County) are among those expected to attend the Marylanders for Marriage Equality event at Ulman’s parents’ Ellicott City home. Tickets range from $75 to $2,000.
“This is an important issue to me,” Ulman, who backed marriage rights for same-sex couples before voters elected him county executive in 2006, told the Blade. He further stressed that he feels that the fact the fundraiser will take place at his parents’ home sends what he describes as a powerful message about his family’s commitment to the issue. “This is something I feel very strongly about.”
A Public Policy Polling survey in May showed that 57 percent of Maryland voters would support the same-sex marriage law in the referendum. The same survey found that 55 percent of black Marylanders back nuptials for gays and lesbians—Marylanders for Marriage Equality on July 10 released a web advertisement that highlights African Americans who support marriage rights for same-sex couples .
“It is important for us to step up and play a role,” Macfarlane told the Blade. “I want to make sure that Howard County just doesn’t deliver just 51 or even 55 percent of the vote for marriage equality, but that we get at least 60 or 65 percent.”
O’Malley, House Speaker Michael Busch (D-Anne Arundel County) and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake are among the state and local officials who have either hosted or attended fundraisers for Marylanders for Marriage Equality in recent weeks. Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin attended a campaign event at a Baltimore restaurant last month.
The campaign to defend Maryland’s same-sex marriage received a boost in May with President Obama’s announcement that he supports nuptials for gays and lesbians – he urged Marylanders to vote for the law during a Baltimore re-election campaign fundraiser last month. The Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Board of Directors passed a same-sex marriage resolution less than three weeks after Obama publicly endorsed the issue.
“We have an all hands on deck approach, whether its raising money or getting people to volunteer,” said Macfarlane when asked about the status of the campaign to defend the same-sex marriage law. “This is a fight we’ve been fighting in Maryland for a long time. We want to win once and for all.”
Ulman conceded he feels “there’s a lot of work to be done” between now and November to ensure same-sex couples will be able to marry in Maryland. He remains optimistic, however, that voters will support the law in the referendum.
“Marylanders have a strong commitment to fairness and equality,” said Ulman. “I feel strongly it will pass. The numbers are trending in the right direction.”
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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