Local
Marines urged to stop sponsorship of sports group that ‘condones’ anti-gay slurs
Union members, vets seek to deliver petitions to Marine Barracks in D.C.
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
A contingent of 58 military veterans and union members assembled in front of the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks at 8th and I streets, S.E., in D.C. on Thursday to call on the Marines to stop sponsoring a sports organization said to condone “homophobic slurs.”
The veterans, some of whom are gay, and members of Unite Here, a union that represents 250,000 workers in the hotel, food service, restaurant and other industries, said they object to the Marine Corps sponsorship of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the nation’s largest promoter of martial arts or “cage” fighting.
“The UFC is an organization that has tolerated people associated with it making jokes about rape, homophobic slurs, and sexually explicit remarks that are demeaning towards women,” the vets and union members said in a statement.
Organizers cited Defense Department figures showing that the Marines have spent more than $2 million purchasing Marine recruitment advertising, including TV ads, linked to UFC fights and events.
The veterans participating in the contingent that approached the Marine Barracks on Thursday attempted to present copies of petitions with about 5,000 signatures calling for ending the Marines’ sponsorship of the UFC to Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, who resides in a house next to the barracks.
Capt. John Norton, public affairs officer at the barracks, told the veterans the barracks could not accept the petitions. Norton told the veterans and others with them to instead deliver the petitions to either Marine Corps headquarters at the Pentagon or at a Marine base in Quantico, Va., which organizes the Marine Corps recruitment program.
Unite Here spokesperson Chris Serres said a veterans committee associated with the union had sent in advance a letter to Amos informing Amos of the union’s objections to the Marine Corps sponsorship of the UFC.
“We believe that, by aligning with the UFC, an organization that has tolerated homophobia, misogyny, and hate speech, the Marine Corps is violating its stated commitment of ‘maintaining dignity and respect for one another,’” the letter says. “Homophobia and hatred, in any form, are not consistent with the values that make the Marines an elite fighting force,” the letter says.
UFC fighters stare one another down. (Photo by Bad Intentionz via Wikimedia)
A spokesperson for the UFC couldn’t immediately be reached.
Advertising Age magazine reported in April that Anheuser-Busch Company, which regularly purchases Budweiser Beer ads from the UFC, complained to UFC officials about remarks made by UFC fighters in recent months that the beer company considered objectionable.
The magazine quoted an Anheuser-Bush statement saying the company “embraces diversity and does not condone insensitive and derogatory comments rooted in ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, etc.”
According to Advertising Age, the UFC responded by sending the magazine a statement saying, “With over 425 athletes on our roster, there have unfortunately been instances where a couple athletes have made insensitive or inappropriate comments. We don’t condone this behavior, and in no way is it reflective of the company or its values.”
Ryan Hand, a Marine veteran and member of Unite Here’s local union branch in Saco, Maine, told the Blade he was skeptical over the UFC’s claim that it doesn’t condone anti-gay or hostile remarks toward women, saying UFC fighters continue to make such remarks.
“As a Marine, I am deeply offended that the Marine Corps would ever associate itself with an organization that tolerates homophobia and hate speech like the UFC,” Hand said in a statement. “As a taxpayer, our money can be better spent elsewhere, particularly as the Defense Department prepares deep cuts to the military.”
“I’m here because I’m a survivor of a sexual assault and I’m a queer woman,” said Chloe Connelly, a Philadelphia resident who traveled to D.C. with Unite Here members to participate in the gathering at the Marine Barracks. “So I find the UFC very, very offensive. They perpetuate homophobia. They perpetuate a rape culture and I don’t think any organizations that my tax dollars pay for should be supporting an organization like the UFC.”
Barracks spokesperson Capt. Norton, when pressed by the veterans at Thursday’s gathering, returned to his office and came back out with a brief written statement, which he gave to the group.
“The issues articulated in the petition regarding inappropriate conduct, alleged or substantiated, by a handful of UFC competitors and leadership are an area of concern that has been addressed with the UFC,” says the statement, which is attributed to the U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Command.
“We are monitoring the issue and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of our advertising and lead generation partnership,” the statement says. “If corrective action is not implemented, we reserve the option to respond accordingly.”
Ethan Snow, a spokesperson for the group that gathered at the Marine Barracks in D.C. said separate continents of union members and veterans were scheduled to deliver copies of the petitions to U.S. Marine recruiting stations several other cities on Thursday. Among the cities, he said, were Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, and D.C.
He said Unite Here and its veterans contingent also were lobbying for an amendment to the U.S. defense appropriations bill currently pending in Congress that would prohibit the Marines and all other military branches from sponsoring any professional sports event, including major league baseball and football.
A spokesperson for the House Appropriations Committee said the committee accepted the amendment as part of the defense appropriations bill and the measure was expected to reach the House floor next week. However, the House Rules Committee approved a rule allowing any member to introduce an amendment to remove the provision from the bill on the House floor, the spokesperson said.
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an organization that advocates on behalf of LGBT service members, didn’t immediately respond to a Blade inquiry about whether the group has taken a position on the amendment.
Virginia
Va. activists preparing campaign in support of repealing marriage amendment
Referendum about ‘dignity and equal protection under the law’
Virginia voters in November will vote on whether to repeal their state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed House Bill 612 into law. It facilitates a referendum for voters to approve the repeal of the 2006 Marshall-Newman Amendment. Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling extended marriage rights to same-sex couples across the country in 2014, codifying marriage equality in Virginia’s constitution would protect it in the state in case the decision is overturned.
Maryland voters in 2012 approved Question 6, which upheld the state’s marriage equality law, by a 52-48 percent margin. Same-sex marriage became legal in Maryland on Jan. 1, 2013.
LGBTQ advocacy groups and organizations that oppose marriage equality mounted political campaigns ahead of the referendum.
Equality Virginia has been involved in advancing LGBTQ rights in Virginia since 1989.
Equality Virginia is working under its 501c3 designation in conjunction with Equality Virginia Advocates, which operates under a 501c4 designation, to plan campaigns in support of repealing the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
The two main campaigns on which Equality Virginia will be focused are education and voter mobilization. Reed Williams, the group’s director of digital engagement and narrative, spoke with the Washington Blade about Equality Virginia’s plans ahead of the referendum.
Williams said an organization for a “statewide public education campaign” is currently underway. Williams told the Blade its goal will be “to ensure voters understand what this amendment does and why updating Virginia’s constitution matters for families across the commonwealth.”
The organization is also working on a “robust media and voter mobilization campaign to identify and turn out voters” to repeal Marshall-Newman Amendment. Equality Virginia plans to work with the community members to guarantee voters are getting clear and accurate information regarding the meaning of this vote and its effect on the Virginia LGBTQ community.
“We believe Virginia voters are ready to bring our constitution in line with both the law and the values of fairness and freedom that define our commonwealth,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman. “This referendum is about ensuring loving, committed couples and their families are treated with dignity and equal protection under the law.”
The Human Rights Campaign has also worked closely with Equality Virginia.
“It’s time to get rid of outdated, unconstitutional language and ensure that same sex couples are protected in Virginia,” HRC President Kelley Robinson told the Blade in a statement.
District of Columbia
D.C. police arrest man for burglary at gay bar Spark Social House
Suspect ID’d from images captured by Spark Social House security cameras
D.C. police on Feb. 18 arrested a 63-year-old man “of no fixed address” for allegedly stealing cash from the registers at the gay bar Spark Social House after unlawfully entering the bar at 2009 14th St., N.W., around 12:04 a.m. after it had closed for business, according to a police incident report.
“Later that day officers canvassing for the suspect located him nearby,” a separate police statement says. “63-year-old Tony Jones of no fixed address was arrested and charged with Burglary II,” the statement says.
The police incident report states that the bar’s owner, Nick Tsusaki, told police investigators that the bar’s security cameras captured the image of a man who has frequently visited the bar and was believed to be homeless.
“Once inside, the defendant was observed via the establishment’s security cameras opening the cash register, removing U.S. currency, and placing the currency into the left front pocket of his jacket,” the report says.
Tsusaki told the Washington Blade that he and Spark’s employees have allowed Jones to enter the bar many times since it opened last year to use the bathroom in a gesture of compassion knowing he was homeless. Tsusaki said he is not aware of Jones ever having purchased anything during his visits.
According to Tsusaki, Spark closed for business at around 10:30 p.m. on the night of the incident at which time an employee did not properly lock the front entrance door. He said no employees or customers were present when the security cameras show Jones entering Spark through the front door around 12:04 a.m.
Tsusaki said the security camera images show Jones had been inside Spark for about three hours on the night of the burglary and show him taking cash out of two cash registers. He took a total of $300, Tsusaki said.
When Tsusaki and Spark employees arrived at the bar later in the day and discovered the cash was missing from the registers they immediately called police, Tsusaki told the Blade. Knowing that Jones often hung out along the 2000 block of 14th Street where Spark is located, Tsusaki said he went outside to look for him and saw him across the street and pointed Jones out to police, who then placed him under arrest.
A police arrest affidavit filed in court states that at the time they arrested him police found the stolen cash inside the pocket of the jacket Jones was wearing. It says after taking him into police custody officers found a powdered substance in a Ziploc bag also in Jones’s possession that tested positive for cocaine, resulting in him being charged with cocaine possession in addition to the burglary charge.
D.C. Superior Court records show a judge ordered Jones held in preventive detention at a Feb. 19 presentment hearing. The judge then scheduled a preliminary hearing for the case on Feb. 20, the outcome of which couldn’t immediately be obtained.
District of Columbia
Judge rescinds order against activist in Capital Pride lawsuit
Darren Pasha accused of stalking organization staff, board members, volunteers
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Feb.18 agreed to rescind his earlier ruling declaring local gay activist Darren Pasha in default for failing to attend a virtual court hearing regarding an anti-stalking lawsuit brought against him by the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual Pride events.
The Capital Pride lawsuit, initially filed on Oct. 27, 2025, accuses Pasha of engaging in a year-long “course of conduct” of “harassment, intimidation, threats, manipulation, and coercive behavior” targeting Capital Pride staff, board members, and volunteers.
In his own court filings without retaining an attorney, Pasha has strongly denied the stalking related allegations against him, saying “no credible or admissible evidence has been provided” to show he engaged in any wrongdoing.
Judge Robert D. Okum nevertheless on Feb. 6 approved a temporary stay-away order requiring Pasha to stay at least 100 feet away from Capital Pride’s staff, volunteers, and board members until the time of a follow-up court hearing scheduled for April 17. He reduced the stay-away distance from 200 yards as requested by Capital Pride.
In his two-page order issued on Feb. 18, Okun stated that Pasha explained that he was involved in a scooter accident in which he was injured and his phone was damaged, preventing him from joining the Feb. 6 court hearing.
“Therefore, the court finds there is a good cause for vacating the default,” Okun states in his order.
At the time he initially approved the default order at the Feb. 6 hearing that Pasha didn’t attend, Okun scheduled an April 17 ex parte proof hearing in which Capital Pride could have requested a ruling in its favor seeking a permanent anti-stalking order against Pasha.
In his Feb. 18 ruling rescinding the default order Okun changed the April 17 ex parte proof hearing to an initial scheduling conference hearing in which a decision on the outcome of the case is not likely to happen.
In addition, he agreed to consider Pasha’s call for a jury trial and gave Capital Pride 14 days to contest that request. The Capital Pride lawsuit initially called for a non-jury trial by judge.
One request by Pasha that Okum denied was a call for him to order Capital Pride to stop its staff or volunteers from posting information about the lawsuit on social media. Pasha has said the D.C.-based online blog called DC Homos, which Pasha claims is operated by someone associated with Capital Pride, has been posting articles portraying him in a negative light and subjecting him to highly negative publicity.
“The defendant has not set forth a sufficient basis for the court to restrict the plaintiff’s social media postings, and the court therefore will deny the defendant’s request in his social media praecipe,” Okun states in his order.
A praecipe is a formal written document requesting action by a court.
Pasha called the order a positive development in his favor. He said he plans to file another motion with more information about what he calls the unfair and defamatory reports about him related to the lawsuit by DC Homos, with a call for the judge to reverse his decision not to order Capital Pride to stop social media postings about the lawsuit.
Pasha points to a video interview on the LGBTQ Team Rayceen broadcast, a link to which he sent to the Washington Blade, in which DC Homos operator Jose Romero acknowledged his association with Capital Pride Alliance.
Capital Pride Executive Director Ryan Bos didn’t immediately respond to a message from the Blade asking whether Romero was a volunteer or employee with Capital Pride.
Pasha also said he believes the latest order has the effect of rescinding the temporary stay away order against him approved by Okun in his earlier ruling, even though Okun makes no mention of the stay away order in his latest ruling. Capital Pride attorney Nick Harrison told the Blade the stay away order “remains in full force and effect.”
Harrison said Capital Pride has no further comment on the lawsuit.
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