Local
Former RNC chair to co-host Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser
Governor Martin O’Malley scheduled to attend Sept. 13 event in New York City
Ken Mehlman (screen capture from CSREurope via You Tube)
Former Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman is among those who will co-host a New York City fundraiser next month for the group defending Maryland’s same-sex marriage law.
Governor Martin O’Malley is scheduled to speak at the Marylanders for Marriage Equality event that will take place at the James Hotel in lower Manhattan on Sept. 13. Gay director John Waters; who is from Baltimore; is on the host committee alongside Mehlman, actor Josh Charles, supermodel Hilary Rhoda and other native Marylanders. Comedian Sandra Bernhard, actresses Julianne Moore and Sarah Jessica Parker, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons, Bravo’s Andy Cohen and former New York Rangers forward Sean Avery are among the other co-hosts.
Tickets range from $250 – $25,000.
“We’re excited to be putting together this event, and thankful that so many have volunteered to serve as hosts,” Josh Levin, campaign director for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, told the Blade. “Voters in Maryland know that this vote will be about treating everyone fairly and equally under the law, and just like the hundreds of volunteers who joined us to knock on doors this weekend, these supporters will help us get the word out.”
Avery, who appeared in a campaign last year that featured prominent New Yorkers who supported same-sex marriage, stressed that he feels he and others who back the issue are “fighting the same fight.” Gays and lesbians began to legally marry in the Empire State in July 2011 after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed New York’s same-sex marriage bill into law.
“We started in New York and a lot of us live here who are involved in this, but it’s really a nationwide issue and a bigger global issue,” Avery told the Blade.
Mehlman was not immediately available for comment because he is out of the country. Brian Ellner, who directed the Human Rights Campaign’s efforts in support of New York’s same-sex marriage bill, told the Blade that he feels those behind the Sept. 13 fundraiser are deeply committed to defending Maryland and Washington’s same-sex marriage laws in November. He further stressed they remain steadfast supporters of efforts to allow gays and lesbians to legally marry in Maine and continue to fight against a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage in Minnesota as between a man and a woman.
“New Yorkers stepped up big to support equality here last year and we are also getting behind these four November referenda,” said Ellner. “Now is the time to start winning these ballot questions. I know we will.”
Freedom to Marry announced earlier this month that its contributions to statewide ballot measures in Maine, Minnesota and Washington have topped $3 million. The organization hopes to raise an additional $10 million for these campaigns
Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, stressed to the Blade that his group has provided a “huge amount of messaging, research and experience and council” to Marylanders for Marriage Equality. He noted that the organization has not only urged its supporters to donate to the campaign, but invited Marylanders for Marriage Equality take part in what he described as “regular calls” between the four campaign managers to “coordinate and share best practices, brainstorm and problem solve.”
“Freedom to Marry is providing assistance to the campaign in Maryland in a number of ways and is looking constantly for ways we can be helpful,” he said. “At the same time we have also taken the lead as the primary out of state funder and supporter in three of the four ballot measures and look to other organizations — most notably HRC — to take a similar role and lead in Maryland, even as we continue to look for ways for advancing the cause across the board.”
Marylanders for Marriage Equality has yet to publicly disclose the amount of money it has raised, but it netted $250,000 at a Chevy Chase fundraiser last month. Levin has repeatedly stressed he remains confident it can successfully defend the state’s same-sex marriage law with between $5 and $7 million.
District of Columbia
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
Drag performer Tara Hoot among event organizers
An organization called Hands Off the Arts has announced it is holding a protest on Friday, Sept. 18, in which between 400 and 800 participants are expected to create a “human chain” around the Kennedy Center to voice their strong objection to President Donald Trump’s call for possibly demolishing the Kennedy Center.
“Hands Off the Arts is organizing a rally Sept. 18 against the president’s defacing of JFK’s memorial, his removal and censorship of art, and the threat to demolish the center if he can’t remake the site in his image,” a statement released by the group says.
The statement says the event will start with a rally at 6:30 p.m. on the Kennedy Center steps and culminate with a “human chain” around the building. “There will be musical performances, testimonials from current and former employees, along with other special guest speakers,” it says
A separate announcement by the group says longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in past years, was among the organizers of the Sept. 18 protest.
The planned protest follows Trump’s decision last year to use his authority to replace the existing members of the Kennedy Center’s board of directors with new members loyal to him. Over the objection of longtime Kennedy Center supporters, the Trump-appointed board changed the name of the center, at Trump’s request, from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts to the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
But following the threat of legal action by opponents who pointed out that the name change could not be legally made unless approved by Congress, the name change was cancelled, with Trump saying he would take steps to restore it later.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports in a Sept. 13 news story that because of negative publicity related to Trump’s actions, the Kennedy Center was facing “fiscal collapse” and possible bankruptcy and could be forced to shut down as early as this week.
According to the Post report, a 57-page document presented to the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees says the center was facing a financial and structural building crisis, with the recent collapse of part of the building’s inside ceiling, indicating the building was unsafe for employees and the public. Among other things, the document says the Kennedy Center may not be able to make payroll or pay for routine maintenance “within a matter of weeks,” the Post reports.
Some LGBTQ advocates were among those who joined others in boycotting the Kennedy Center to express their objections to Trump’s actions, including a statement by Trump that he objected to the Kennedy Center’s practice of hosting drag performances.
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has been among the LGBTQ performing arts groups and artists that have performed at the Kennedy Center.
“With the future still very much uncertain, now more than ever, the Center needs you to stand up for freedom of expression and against authoritarian overreach into arts and culture institutions,” the Hands Off the Arts group says in its announcement of the Hands Around the Kennedy Center protest.
“You have the opportunity to make a difference — show up with Hands Off the Arts and show your power as part of Hands Around the Kennedy Center,” it says.
A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Baltimore
Transgender woman killed in Barclay community mourned by friends, advocates
Sophie Lee shot to death on Friday morning
By DARREONNA DAVIS | Denise Johnson imagined spending Sunday with her daughter, Sophie Lee, eating crabs at the park. Instead, she stood on a Barclay street corner Sunday evening surrounded by nearly 100 people who came to remember her daughter, a transgender woman who was fatally shot there Friday.
The 27-year-old woman was found in the 2400 block of North Calvert Street around 1:15 a.m. Friday, Baltimore Police said in a news release.
Lindsey Eldridge, a police department spokesperson, said it’s unclear if her identity had anything to do with her death and the investigation is ongoing.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, landed an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a new job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Jaime Christopher Pierce on their appointment to serve as a member of the Virginia Governor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. Pierce was sworn in on Sept. 3 by Greg Parks, clerk of the Alexandria Circuit Court.
Pierce currently serves as vice chair of the Alexandria City LGBTQIA+ Task Force and as a member of the Alexandria Pride planning committee. They previously served on the board of directors of Equality Virginia.
Upon being sworn in, Pierce said, “Public service has been a central part of my life for more than 30 years, and this appointment gives me an opportunity to serve the Commonwealth in a different and very personal way. My career has allowed me to work with people and communities throughout Virginia, and I hope to bring that experience, along with my own lived experience and my involvement in the LGBTQ+ community, to the work of the Board.” They added, “Having Greg administer the oath makes the occasion even more meaningful because of his own historic role as Virginia’s first openly gay elected circuit court clerk.”
Pierce also serves as Circuit Court Services Manager for the Department of Judicial Services, at the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. They began their career in Virginia’s judiciary in 1994 as a deputy clerk with the Virginia Beach Circuit Court and have since held several professional and leadership positions within the court system. Pierce is a member of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management. At the national level, Pierce participated in the workgroup that developed the National Association for Court Management’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guide, a resource designed to help court professionals advance inclusive practices and strengthen access, fairness and belonging within the justice system.
Pierce earned a degree in Criminal Justice from Liberty University, and a certificate in Paralegal Studies from Norfolk State University.
Advocate, Out parent company adds Trump supporter to board, prompting outrage
78th annual Emmy Awards recapped
Indonesia’s top Muslim clerical body proposes criminalizing LGBTQ people, advocacy
Hands Off the Arts to form ‘human chain’ around Kennedy Center
LGBTQ issues, attacks on Democrats dominate unusual RNC midterm convention
Multi-billion-dollar 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to continue until 2090
LGBTQ Military Happy Hour set for Sept. 15
Calendar: September 11-17
Comings & Goings
