Local
Freedom to Marry changes course, launches Md. marriage PAC
Organization had declined to join coalition of groups defending state law
Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade has learned that Freedom to Marry has formed a political action committee that will allow it to raise money to defend Maryland’s same-sex marriage law, a change of course from earlier this year when the organization declined to join the coalition of groups defending the law.
Maryland State Board of Elections records indicate that the Freedom to Marry Maryland PAC with Teresa Williams of Cheverly as its chair was registered on Sept. 18. Williams’ partner, Jo Deutsch, who is Freedom to Marry’s federal director in D.C., is the PAC’s treasurer. Former Equality Maryland Board President Scott Davenport, who is Freedom to Marry’s COO, is listed as its deputy treasurer.
Maryland law requires that all PAC officers are registered to vote in the state.
“The PAC is basically a legal mechanism that’s required for reporting certain kinds of contributions so we really just have set it up to be able to do what we want to do consistent with the reporting legal requirements,” Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson told the Blade. “Freedom to Marry has all along been assisting the campaign and providing certain kinds of help, and now obviously we’re all in the home stretch on these four ballot measures [in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota and Washington]. And we all need to step up and do as much as we can to win as many of them as we can so we just really wanted to have the legal mechanism ready to basically keep helping and hopefully do more even as we focus on the states where we’ve also been pushing to get the victory that is our number one priority for the end of the year.”
The PAC’s registration comes in spite of Freedom to Marry’s announcement last year that it would not join the coalition of groups defending Maryland’s same-sex marriage law.
Freedom to Marry announced in August that its contributions to same-sex ballot measures in Maine and Washington and the campaign to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman in Minnesota through its Win More States Fund had topped $3 million. It hopes to raise an additional $10 million for these campaigns by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, a Freedom to Marry press release on Sept. 7 that announced a series of house parties that will take place across the country on Oct. 13 to raise funds for statewide same-sex marriage campaigns specifically cites Maryland as among the states with ballot measures. These include one that will take place at former Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman’s Manhattan home, according to BuzzFeed.
Wolfson said that observers should not read too much into the timing of the PAC’s registration, which comes less than two months before the referendum on the law that Gov. Martin O’Malley signed in March. It also coincides with the Sept. 13 fundraiser for Marylanders for Marriage Equality in New York City at which the governor spoke.
“We believe there’s a pathway to win in Maryland and it’s going to take a lot more effort and significantly more resources and using the time to make the case,” said Wolfson when asked about the effectiveness of the campaign to defend Maryland’s same-sex marriage law. “If we all step up and do that whether in Maryland or in the other states we can hope to have the victory in one or more states that we at Freedom to Marry have prioritized as our remaining goal in 2012.”
Josh Levin, campaign director for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, described Freedom to Marry’s involvement as “a vote of confidence.”
“Happy to finally make Maryland an ‘all hands on deck’ state like it should be,” added Fred Sainz, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, the group that had given Marylanders for Marriage Equality $723,000 in cash and in-kind donations as of Aug. 6. HRC also contributed $853,000 to the legislative campaign to secure passage of the state’s same-sex marriage law earlier this year. “We value Freedom to Marry as a partner and are delighted that they’ll be engaged in the effort to protect marriage equality in Maryland.”
Lisa Polyak, who, along with her partner of more than 30 years, Gita Deane, became the lead plaintiffs in the same-sex marriage lawsuit that Equality Maryland and the American Civil Liberties Union filed in 2004, also responded.
“Gita and I welcome Freedom to Marry’s increasing participation in the struggle to keep full marriage equality in Maryland,” Polyak told the Blade. “We know that they’ve been helpful in the past. We were surprised and disappointed that they weren’t more involved in this year’s effort to pass the marriage equality bill, especially since they seemed to be working hard in other states trying to pass a marriage law or manage a ballot referendum. But there is no question: We need all hands on deck at this time.”
District of Columbia
Man charged with anti-gay assault in D.C. accepts plea offer
Community service offered in exchange for dismissing hate crime charge
A Germantown, Md., man arrested by D.C. police on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation for allegedly assaulting a gay man while using “homophobic slurs” has agreed to an offer by prosecutors to plead guilty to simple assault without the hate crime designation and with the promise of having the charge dismissed if he completes, among other requirements, 48 hours of community service work.
Dean Edmundson, 26, standing beside his attorney, officially accepted the offer of a Deferred Sentencing Agreement at an Aug. 18 status hearing in D.C. Superior Court after Senior Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo explained the details of the agreement and confirmed Edmundson’s decision to waive his right to a trial.
Among other things, the judge said the agreement offered by prosecutors with the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. includes the requirement that he successfully completes 48 hours of community service work, stays away from the victim of the assault, writes a letter of apology to the victim, and does not violate any other laws or get into trouble for the next 12 months.
Puig-Lugo then announced he scheduled a sentencing hearing for Edmundson for Aug. 18, 2027, at which time a determination will made on whether he has fulfilled all the requirements under the agreement and whether the simple assault charge will be dismissed. The judge added that if it is determined that Edmundson did not fulfil the terms of the agreement the charge would remain in place and he could be sentenced to a possible maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Edmundson, who appeared in court wearing a business suit with a dress shirt and tie, was released on his own recognizance following his arrest by D.C. police on Feb. 7, 2026.
Police and court records show he was initially charged by arresting officers with simple assault with a hate crime designation. In a statement announcing the arrest, D.C. police said, “On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and kept walking,” the statement says.
A follow-up arrest affidavit filed by police states that Edmundson followed the victim and called him “bald, ugly, and gay,” and then “pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push.” The affidavit adds, “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay.”
According to the court records, the Office of the U.S. Attorney filed its official charge of simple assault against Edmunson on Feb. 9 without the hate crime designation. The office has not responded to a request by the Washington Blade for its reason for dropping the hate crime designation. The office has also not immediately responded to a follow-up inquiry from the Blade this week asking if prosecutors consulted the victim to obtain the victim’s thoughts about the plea offer.
The Blade, which has a policy of not disclosing the identify of crime victims in cases like this without their consent, could not immediately obtain contact information to reach the victim for comment.
Court records show that Edmundson rejected an earlier plea agreement offer by prosecutors and he was scheduled for a non-jury trial on Aug. 18. The records show his attorney filed a motion earlier this month asking the judge to convert the trial into status hearing on that same day after his client accepted the Deferred Sentencing Agreement offer by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The judge approved the motion without objection from prosecutors.
Virginia
Winsome Earle-Sears ‘Life and Marriage Tour’ to include Northern Va. stops
Voters to consider marriage equality, reproductive rights referenda in November
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has announced her campaign against efforts to enshrine marriage equality and reproductive rights in the state constitution will make several stops in Northern Virginia.
Her “Life and Marriage Tour” will include stops in Manassas, Winchester, and Harrisonburg. Earle-Sears said the “Life and Marriage Tour” will also travel to Virginia Beach, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville, and other cities across Virginia “throughout September and October.”
The announcement did not include specific dates.
“Virginia, you’ve been asking where the Life and Marriage Tour is headed — here’s a look at our current tour locations,” she said on X on Tuesday. “We’ll be traveling across the commonwealth throughout September and October, and we’re still building the journey.”
Current Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, last November defeated Earle-Sears, a Republican, in the race to succeed Republican Glenn Youngkin.
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which defined marriage in Virginia as between a man and a woman.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Youngkin a decade later signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Spanberger signed bills that finalized the marriage equality and reproductive rights referenda’s language.
The referenda will take place on Nov. 3.
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].
Congratulations to Carla Lester, LICSW on her new position as Chief Program Officer with SMYAL. Upon accepting the position she said, “SMYAL deeply aligns with my passion for honoring, protecting, and upholding the rights of all individuals, particularly LGBTQ+ youth and others who have been historically underserved, to belong to communities that affirm their identities, treat them with dignity and respect, and support their well-being. At this point in my career, I was ready to transition to an organization whose mission more closely reflected my values and was rooted in the community. SMYAL offered the opportunity to serve both an organization and a population whose mission not only resonates deeply with me but also intersects with my own multiple identities.”
Lester is a healthcare and human services executive with more than 20 years of experience in behavioral health, federal and state health insurance programs, housing, health care, education, and community-based services. She has held senior roles at Carelon Behavioral Health, Pathways to Housing and N Street Village, leading clinical programs, Housing First initiatives, homeless outreach, trauma-informed services, and integrated case management.
She earned master’s degrees in Social Work and Divinity, and maintains active clinical social work licenses in D.C. and Maryland.
Congratulations also to Tad Czyzewski on his new position as Chief Development Officer at SMYAL. On accepting the position, he said, “While I’ve spent much of my nonprofit career in the arts, the current social and political environments made me want to apply my skills and passion more directly toward supporting and strengthening our community. SMYAL and this role felt like the right place to do that.”
Czyzewski brings more than two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership and strategy, fundraising, and business development. Prior to joining SMYAL, he served for eight years as executive director of The Choral Arts Society of Washington, where he led fundraising, financial management, and community engagement. During his tenure, he helped raise more than $15 million in contributed revenue. He guided the organization through a major rebrand and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to that Czyzewski served as Business and Development Director for Washington Revels, and held leadership and advisory roles with Chorus America, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He began his career in the corporate sector, including at Capital One, where his work in product development and marketing contributed to new financial products and more than $2 billion in deposits.
Czyzewski is a lifelong musician, has performed professionally as a classical singer, including with the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra.
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