Local
Del. guv courts gay Dems
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell; Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden; and U.S. Rep. John Carney (D-Del.), the state’s sole member of the U.S. House, were among nearly a dozen elected officials who attended a Rehoboth Beach fundraiser on July 28 for the Delaware Stonewall Democrats.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell was among nearly a dozen elected officials who attended a Rehoboth Beach fundraiser on July 28 for the Delaware Stonewall Democrats. (Photo by Molly Keresztury via Wikimedia)
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell; Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden; and U.S. Rep. John Carney (D-Del.), the state’s sole member of the U.S. House, were among nearly a dozen elected officials who attended a Rehoboth Beach fundraiser on July 28 for the Delaware Stonewall Democrats.
Markell and Biden praised the group for playing a key role, along with the statewide LGBT group Equality Delaware, in successfully lobbying the legislature last year for a civil unions bill that Markell signed into law.
“I think a marriage equality bill is inevitable in Delaware and my guess is it will be fairly soon,” Markell told the Blade at the fundraiser, which was held at Mariachi Restaurant located near the Rehoboth boardwalk.
“I don’t know for sure it will happen in this next session but I don’t think it’s far off,” he said in discussing a state same-sex marriage bill. “And it’s something that I would support.”
Biden told those attending the event that he and his parents were deeply moved earlier this year when the Biden family watched Vice President Biden declare his support for same-sex marriage on the Sunday morning news show “Meet the Press.”
Noting that his father’s interview on the program was taped two days in advance, Beau Biden said he, his wife and their two children and his mom and dad gathered in the living room of the vice president’s house in Washington to watch the program together.
“That Sunday morning when you were all watching ‘Meet the Press,’ I was sitting there with my mom and my dad,” he said. “I watched my dad and I watched him watching and my mom watching. But even more than that, I watched my kids watching us watch this,” said Beau Biden.
“I have an eight year old and a seven year old, who know their dad and their grandpop watch the news a bunch,” he told the crowd, which was listening in silence. “And they knew something was going on because at the end of the interview we all had tears in our eyes — my mom and my dad, my mom and I. And they asked me what was going on.
“And I tried to explain to them why what my dad said was so meaningful to me and to my mom … But to me what it means and I think what it meant to them was I’m not going to have to explain to them anymore as they get older why their parents’ friends can’t get married.”
Biden joined Markell in expressing support for a same-sex marriage bill in Delaware.
Others attending the fundraiser were three out gay candidates running for state offices — Mitch Crane, who is running for the statewide office of insurance commissioner; Andy Staton, who’s running for a seat in the State Senate from the Rehoboth area; and Marie Mayor, who’s running for a State House of Representatives seat in the area of Milton, Del.
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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