Local
Will casino push impact Md. marriage referendum?
Polls suggest gaming will have little impact, but others say it’s a ‘crap shoot’
Governor Martin O’Malley (Blade photo by Pete Exis)
As Maryland lawmakers prepare to debate the proposed expansion of gambling in the state, same-sex marriage supporters are divided over whether the issue will influence the outcome of the November referendum.
Josh Levin, campaign director of Marylanders for Marriage Equality, pointed to a Maryland pollster who said in an undated memo that a referendum, no matter “how controversial,” would not “by itself drive up turnout among ‘reluctant’ voters in a presidential year.” The memo specifically notes that 2,631,434 Marylanders voted in the 2008 presidential election, compared to only 2,525,424 who cast votes in the gaming referendum that allowed five casinos with slot machines and table games on video screens to open in the state. (Voters approved Question 2 by a 58.6 to 41.4 percent margin.)
The Washington Post last month noted that a second poll of 700 Maryland voters that the Mellman Group conducted on behalf of MGM Resorts International between June 28 and July 7 found 63 percent of gambling proponents support same-sex marriage. The survey found that only 34 percent of those who oppose gaming are against nuptials for gays and lesbians. MGM is seeking rights to build a proposed National Harbor casino.
“Both issues are going to motivate voters to get out on both of the issues,” said Levin, referring to the Mellman Group survey. He spoke to the Blade hours after Gov. Martin O’Malley, who signed the same-sex marriage law in March, announced a special legislative session to decide the fate of the proposed National Harbor casino in Prince George’s County that will start on Aug. 9. “Where we have the momentum, we don’t see it affecting turnout in ways that will be harmful to us.”
Neither O’Malley’s office nor the Maryland Family Alliance, the group that backs the November same-sex marriage referendum, returned the Blade’s requests for comment.
Some LGBT advocates fear that the group of existing Maryland casino operators will target conservative blacks and white evangelicals who traditionally oppose gambling — and same-sex marriage — in a well-funded campaign against the proposed National Harbor complex. A separate referendum on the Maryland Dream Act that would extend tuition to undocumented immigrants further complicates the electoral landscape.
“It’s a tricky question because gambling and marriage have never been on the ballot together in Maryland,” said Jeff Krehely, vice president of LGBT programs at the Center for American Progress. “Knowing there could be a morality argument against gambling, I feel like having any kind of gambling effort on the ballot is going to increase those with a more conservative perspective on the world to come out to the ballot referendum.”
A Gonzalez Research and Marketing poll in January found the economy, jobs, education and taxes — and not same-sex marriage — were the top issues among Maryland voters. Less than one percent of respondents identified nuptials for gays and lesbians as their biggest concern.
Only 19 percent of those who took part in the annual Conservative Political Action Committee straw poll in D.C. in February described “traditional values” as their top issue going into this year’s election cycle. Only 1 percent of those who voted in the 2011 CPAC straw poll cited stopping same-sex marriage as their primary concern.
In spite of these numbers, some Maryland LGBT activists are not ready to discount the impact a gambling referendum could have on efforts to defend the state’s same-sex marriage law.
“At this point it’s a crap shoot,” the Rev. Meredith Moise, co-chair of Baltimore Black Pride, told the Blade. “I do know some of the pastors are organizing against the gambling pieces for good reason — focus on gaming is taking away from a lot of important issues and just the money drain it will bring to the community is unfathomable. Anytime you have something that can motivate and organize anti-gay constituencies could spell trouble for us.”
Moise noted that churches that both support and oppose nuptials for same-sex couples have joined anti-gaming efforts. She stressed that she feels these congregations “have agreed to disagree about gay marriage for the sake of their coalitions.”
Moise added that activists have found that those whom she described as allies and potential allies remain unaware of the November referendum.
“We are still educating people and having conversations about marriage equality,” she said. “LGBT folks and community activists are having conversations about marriage equality. What we are hearing and experiencing is that people know the bill passed but don’t know that it will be on the ballot in November.”
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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