Local
Katie O’Malley “hopeful” Md. voters will support same-sex marriage law
Maryland first lady spoke at SMYAL’s annual Fall Brunch in D.C.
Maryland First Lady Katie O’Malley (Photo courtesy of www.governor.maryland.gov)
Maryland First Lady Katie O’Malley stressed on Sunday that she remains optimistic voters will back the state’s same-sex marriage law in November.
“We’re so hopeful that in just 40-some days we’re going to be able to pass the marriage equality referendum,” she said during the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League’s annual Fall Brunch at the Mandarin Oriental in Southwest Washington at which she was honored for her anti-bullying efforts. O’Malley, a judge on the Baltimore City District Court, also jokingly referenced her controversial remarks at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s annual Creating Change conference in Baltimore in January when she described House of Delegates members who opposed last year’s same-sex marriage bill as “cowards.”
She spoke hours after the Baltimore Sun released a poll that shows 49 percent of likely Maryland voters support the state’s same-sex marriage law, compared to 39 percent who oppose it. A Gonzalez Research poll released last week indicates that 51 percent of Marylanders would support the same-sex marriage law in the Nov. 6 referendum, compared to 43 percent who would oppose it. The same survey noted that 44 percent of black Marylanders back nuptials for gays and lesbians, compared to 52 percent who oppose them.
“I’m excited about this campaign,” said the governor. “All indications are, especially after the courageous statements by President Obama [in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples] and the very skillful way that the Democratic National Convention wove marriage equality and the Dream Act into the fabric of human dignity, that the people of Maryland will choose to move forward and not back. And that we will in fact pass this and defend it on Election Day.”
Martin O’Malley is scheduled to attend a Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser at gay Democratic lobbyist Steve Elmendorf’s Logan Circle home on Tuesday with D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray.
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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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