Local
Former NFL commissioner donates $100,000 to Md. marriage campaign
Paul and Chan Tagliabue attended D.C. fundraiser on Tuesday
Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Former National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on Tuesday announced that he and his wife have donated $100,000 to the campaign to defend Maryland’s same-sex marriage law.
“We had the privilege of raising our family in Maryland. We have the privilege of now living in the District of Columbia. We’ve lived in New York where they passed marriage equality. We spend time in the summer in Maine, where they are fighting it again. I think this is the time to view this not as an expense, but as a capital investment in our nation’s infrastructure,” he said during a Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser that he and his wife Chan attended at gay Democratic lobbyist Steve Elmendorf’s Logan Circle home. The couple, whose son is gay, donated $8,500 to the campaign during a star-studded New York City fundraiser that former Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman and others hosted last month. “You pass it in the legislature, the will of the people has been expressed and you get litigation. In New York, they didn’t have to deal with it at the ballot, but now they’re attacking the Republican senators who supported it and one of them has now been defeated. At some point the tide has got to turn. You got to stop the litigation. You got to demonstrate that the litigation is not — the second guessing at the ballot box is not going to overcome the will of the legislature. At some point you’ve got to demonstrate that people who support this are going to be re-elected, and not get punished for supporting marriage equality. And I think right now is the time.”
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray were among those who attended the fundraiser.
Gay activist Peter Rosenstein presented O’Malley with a $10,000 check to Marylanders for Marriage Equality from the Campaign for All D.C. Families. The governor, who signed Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill into law in March, conceded that the campaign to defend it needs to raise $1 million before Election Day. He told a group of LGBT bloggers and reporters during a Sept. 24 conference call that Marylanders for Marriage Equality needed an additional $2 million ahead of the Nov. 6 referendum.
“This is by no means done,” said O’Malley. “And in your presence here tonight, I hope that when you leave here, you leave here committed to help us turn on the after-burners for the next 36 days.”
“We need to raise more money, that’s obvious, but I’m extremely optimistic that on Nov. 6 Maryland is going to be the next state in the fold of those who are supporting marriage equality in our nation,” said Gray, who referenced D.C.’s same-sex marriage law during his remarks. “I can tell you know almost three years later in the District of Columbia, the world has not come to an end. Families have not dissolved. Children have not been harmed. There is not one untoward thing that has happened in the District of Columbia, but what has happened is that there are a lot of people who are happier today than they were over three years ago when they could not consummate their relationship in the way they had chosen.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.,) whose daughter came out to the Washington Blade in an exclusive interview in June, shared Gray’s optimism. He also applauded both O’Malley and President Obama for supporting same-sex marriage.
“I was very, very pleased to join with the governor and the president to say look; this is the civil rights issue of our day,” said Hoyer. “It’s not government’s job to tell people who to love. It’s not the government’s job. And we ought to accord the respect to them that we accord to others as well. If the pursuit of happiness is available to everybody, that means everybody. So I’m very pleased to be here with all of you. We’re going to win this issue. We’re going to win this issue mainly through the leadership of Martin O’Malley.”
District of Columbia
25K people attend People’s March in D.C.
President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is on Monday
Upwards of 25,000 people attended the People’s March that took place in D.C. on Saturday.
Participants — who protested against President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals they say would target transgender people, immigrants, women, and other groups — gathered at McPherson and Farragut Squares and Franklin Park before they joined the march that ended at the Lincoln Memorial.
The Gender Liberation Movement is among the groups that sponsored the march. Dozens of other People’s Marches took place in cities across the country on Saturday.
Trump’s inauguration will take place in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Monday.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Michael K. Lavers)
#PeoplesMarch participants arrive at the Lincoln Memorial pic.twitter.com/TZjFb2UtYq
— Michael K. Lavers (He/Him) (@mklavers81) January 18, 2025
At the People’s March. Covering for @WashBlade pic.twitter.com/6ri4yMDY77
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) January 18, 2025
Virginia
Arlington man arrested for arson at Freddie’s Beach Bar
Suspect charged with setting fires at two other nearby restaurants
The Arlington County Fire Department announced on Jan. 16 that an Arlington man has been arrested on three counts of arson for at least three fires set at restaurants on the same block on South 23rd Street, including Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant, which is a gay establishment.
A statement released by the fire department says a warrant for the arrest of Timothy Clark Pollock was issued on Jan. 15 and that Clark was apprehended by Alexandria police on Jan. 16 at approximately 6:54 a.m. It says he was transferred into the custody of fire marshals and the Arlington Police Department.
Fire department officials have said the fires that Pollock allegedly set took place between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9, on the 500 block of South 23rd Street in the Crystal City section of Arlington.
Freddie Lutz, owner of Freddie’s, said the front door of his establishment was set on fire with what appeared to be a flammable liquid such as lighter fluid. The door was partially blackened by the fire, but the restaurant itself did not catch fire, Lutz said.
Fire department officials said the other two nearby establishments hit by small fires around that same time were the Crystal City Sports Pub and McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant.
Lutz told the Washington Blade that the fire at Freddie’s took place the day before and the day after Freddie’s received a threatening phone call from what sounded like the same unidentified male caller.
“He said I’m going to fuck you up and I’m going to fuck the women up,” Lutz said the person told Freddie’s manager, who answered the two calls.
Lutz speculated that the caller could have been the same person who started the fire at Freddie’s and possibly the other two restaurants.
The short statement by the Arlington County Fire Department announcing the arrest did not say whether fire and police investigators have determined a possible motive for the fires. The statement says Pollock was being held without bond and that he is “also facing additional charges for unrelated crimes, which remain under investigation.”
The online Arlington news publication ARLNow reports that a Facebook account associated with Timothy C. Pollock includes a photo from inside Freddie’s posted on Facebook on Dec. 21.
Lutz confirmed for the Blade the photo is clearly one that was taken inside Freddie’s showing Christmas decorations, leading Lutz to believe that Pollock has been inside Freddie’s at least once if not more than once.
Photos of Timothy C. Pollock on that person’s Facebook page appear to be the same Pollock as that captured in the mug shot photo of Pollock released by the Arlington County Fire Department on Jan. 16.
Delaware
Delaware governor issues executive order creating LGBTQ+ Commission
Body to ‘strengthen ties’ between government and community
Delaware Gov. Bethany Hall-Long on Jan. 16 signed and issued an executive order creating a Delaware State LGBTQ+ Commission that she said will hold public forums for the exchange of ideas on the needs of the state’s diverse LGBTQ community.
“The nine-member commission will serve to strengthen ties between the government and LGBTQ+ organizations,” a statement released by the governor’s office says.
The statement adds that the new commission will “help remove barriers to societal participation for LGBTQ+ people and improve the delivery of services to the community in Delaware to areas such as employment, equality, education, and mental health.”
It says that members of the commission will be appointed by the governor and serve without monetary compensation for a three-year term.
According to the statement, the commission members “will represent different facets of the LGBTQ+ community, taking into account age, race, gender, identity, background, life experiences and other factors, and reflect the geographic diversity of the state.”
Hall-Long’s executive order creating the new commission came at a time when she is serving in effect as interim governor for a period of just two weeks. As lieutenant governor, she became governor on Jan. 7 when outgoing Gov. John Carney resigned to take office in his newly elected position of mayor of Wilmington.
Carney, who served two terms as governor, could not run again for that position under Delaware’s term limit law. Democrat Matt Myer won the governor’s election in November and will be sworn in as Delaware’s next governor on Jan. 21, when Hall-Long will step down.
Myer was expected to appoint the commission members in the weeks following his assumption of gubernatorial duties.
“Ultimately, the commission will advise the governor, members of the governor’s Cabinet, members of the General Assembly, and other policymakers on the effect of agency policies, procedures, practices, laws, and administrative rules on the unique challenges and needs of LGBTQ+ people,” the statement released by Hall-Long’s office says.
“It is truly an honor to bring this commission to fruition, and I am very excited to see the positive changes the commission will make in the lives of our LGBTQ+ neighbors,” Hall-Long said in the statement.
David Mariner, executive director of Sussex Pride, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in Delaware’s Sussex County, which includes Rehoboth Beach, praised the new executive order as an important step in advancing LGBTQ equality.
“It is my hope that through this commission, we can address the critical issues facing LGBTQ Delawareans,” Mariner said in his own statement.
“This includes developing an LGBTQ health report with a tangible roadmap to health equity, increasing collaboration and communication on hate crimes and hate-related activities, and ensuring that nondiscrimination protections, guaranteed by law, are a reality for all of our residents,” he said.
The statement announcing the LGBTQ+ Commission and the full text of the executive order can be accessed here.
‘Hand to God’ showcases actors and their puppets
Navigating the shift: Mid-term rentals in D.C.’s short-term market
25K people attend People’s March in D.C.
All charged up about EVs
Transgender woman who protested against Cuban government released from prison
D.C. police demoted gay captain for taking parental leave: Lawsuit
Biden to leave office revered as most pro-LGBTQ president in history
Ugandan minister: Western human rights sanctions forced country to join BRICS
Many LGBTQ residents escaping D.C. for inauguration weekend
Kidman – and chemistry – drive provocative ‘Babygirl’
-
District of Columbia5 days agoD.C. police demoted gay captain for taking parental leave: Lawsuit
-
Politics5 days agoBiden to leave office revered as most pro-LGBTQ president in history
-
Uganda5 days agoUgandan minister: Western human rights sanctions forced country to join BRICS
-
District of Columbia5 days agoMany LGBTQ residents escaping D.C. for inauguration weekend