Local
Virginia delegate-elect optimistic LGBT bills will advance
Delegate-elect Rob Krupicka (D-Alexandria) succeeds former state Del. David Englin
State Del.-elect Rob Krupicka and his family (Photo courtesy of krupicka.com)
Virginia Del.-elect Rob Krupicka (D-Alexandria) remains optimistic that LGBT-specific issues will advance in Richmond once the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
“It’s always a challenge in Virginia when you’re trying to move an equality agenda forward to do it in a way that has a high chance of success and to not do it in a way that potentially, actually almost dooms [it] to failure,” he told the Washington Blade as he discussed the prospects of a bill that state Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) plans to reintroduce next year that would extend employment protections to LGBT state workers. “There’s a range of issues that I think all of us would see as pretty reasonable that you have to be pretty strategic about when you’re working on building a consensus and coalition behind them, but I think the senator’s work on that issue is certainly one where I think there’s an opportunity to build a broad coalition of support and hopefully we’ll be able to do that.”
Voters elected Krupicka to represent the 45th District, which includes portions of Alexandria and Arlington and Fairfax Counties in the House of Delegates, during a Sept. 4 special election. He will succeed former state Del. David Englin who resigned because of extramarital affair.
Krupicka, 41, was the first straight member of Virginia Partisans, an LGBT Democratic group, in the early 1990s. He was on the Alexandria City Council from 2003 through earlier this month. Then-Gov. Tim Kaine appointed Krupicka to the Virginia Board of Education in 2009.
Krupicka applauded Alexandria’s “very strong” human rights ordinance and efforts to prevent discrimination against prospective tenants based on their race or sexual orientation.
“I’m very proud of that,” said Krupicka. “That’s an important piece of what makes Alexandria a great community. I have been very strongly supportive of a lot of our efforts on human rights issues.”
He further noted he has “always been very strongly in favor” of marriage rights for same-sex couples—he and current gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) hosted a fundraiser for the campaign that sought to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that sought to define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state. Virginia voters approved the measure in 206.
“It’s been a lot of fun to watch how marriage equality has evolved as an issue over the last 15-20 years,” said Krupicka, noting the city of Alexandria has always backed the issue as part of its legislative platform. “I was for marriage equality before it was necessarily a popular position to take. I can’t really recall a time when I wasn’t, but it’s been fun to watch friends and colleagues and other people kind of evolve on that issue. I think it says a lot about the potential and I’m pretty that evolution will continue for everyone and we’ll eventually get there.”
Krupicka also applauded gay prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland’s interim appointment to the Richmond General Circuit Court in June. He criticized state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County) and others in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates who rejected his nomination in May.
“It was disastrous and embarrassing he wasn’t appointed the first time, and clearly we have work to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Krupicka. “I thought that was one of the worst days of the General Assembly, and they had a lot of bad days, to treat someone with so much credibility and experience the way they did I thought was shameful.”
He remains optimistic that lawmakers will confirm Thorne-Begland’s appointment once they return to Richmond in January.
“My understanding is there are people who have evolved in their thinking on that issue and hopefully that will be the case,” said Krupicka. “Good people should be given a chance to serve.”
Equality Virginia to hold Arlington fundraiser
Krupicka is among the co-hosts of an Oct. 4 fundraiser at the Westin Arlington Gateway that will raise funds to support Equality Virginia’s work in Northern Virginia.
The organization now has a staffer, Ryan Schell, who works out of Arlington. Equality Virginia is also working with the city of Fairfax and Prince William County to pass non-discrimination resolutions or executive orders before state lawmakers return to Richmond.
James Parrish, the group’s executive director, told the Blade that his organization is also working with the Fairfax County Public Schools to LGBT-specific language their anti-bullying policy and Alexandria City Public Schools to add gender identity and expression to their existing regulations.
“Our goal is to really get back into the Northern Virginia area or in some ways to just get into the Northern Virginia area,” said Parrish as he discussed the Oct. 4 fundraiser. Equality Virginia also held an event in Fairfax over the summer. “It’s just a more visible way of seeing EV around and kind of back up all the work that we’ll be doing up there.”
Virginia
Virginia Anti-Violence Project struggles to fill federal funding gaps
Group has lost 54 percent of funding since 2020
A loss of federal funding has threatened to adversely impact the Virginia Anti-Violence Project’s work in the state.
The group’s mission is to assist LGBTQ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) victims of domestic, sexual, interpersonal, and state violence with direct support, education, and advocacy. The VAVP seeks to build a future where LGBTQ and BIPOC individuals can live freely without a sense for worry about violence.
“Virginia Anti-Violence Project helps to close the distance between services existing and LGBTQIA+ survivors actually being able to reach safety, stable housing, and support that they can trust,” VAVP Executive Director Ebony Clark told the Washington Blade on Tuesday. “Our mission is to provide direct services and advocacy to LGBTQ+ survivors across Virginia.”
Clark said obtaining state and federal funds has become increasingly difficult.
“One of the reasons that we can talk about is politics and how you know queer diverse, queer communities are targets when it comes to politics, and so that may be a reason why the funding is decreasing in in very niche areas, but overall, state funding, federal funding has been lost or significantly reduced when it comes to culturally specific marginalized populations,” Clark said. “The bigger picture is that funding that was purposed for diversity, equity, inclusion, marginalized populations, or you know culturally competent programming, those funds have been strategically reduced or eliminated on state and federal levels overall.”
Even more so with the current Trump-Vance administration.
VAVP’s federal funding has dropped 54 percent over the last six years: from $25.1 million in fiscal year 2020 to $11.6 million in fiscal year 2026.
Clark noted some federal funding has been denied due to VAVP’s DEI policies — it has had to “water down” their language. These cuts have forced VAVP to limit housing and economic support, which has resulted in fewer resources for its clients.
The organization has set up a goal for receiving between $250,000-$300,000 a year that would allow it to operate — and focus on client housing.
“Housing is fundamental to safety,” Clark told the Blade. “If you know leaving violence puts someone on the street or forces them back to the person harming them, that means the crisis isn’t over. So there needs to be other prevention strategies and reactive strategies in place to be able to prevent further violence from folks.”
VAVP has set up a link for anyone who is interested in making a donation. It is here.
The VAVP website is also accepting donations.
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.
Virginia Anti-Violence Project struggles to fill federal funding gaps
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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
Multi-billion-dollar 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund to continue until 2090
LGBTQ Military Happy Hour set for Sept. 15
Calendar: September 11-17
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