Local
Md. campaign features undocumented LGBT students
At the intersection of immigrant, gay rights movements
Edwin (photo courtesy of Equality Maryland)
Gay Silver Spring resident Edwin came to the United States from Guatemala in 2004 when he was 14. His family initially told him after he came out at 19 that he was going to go to hell because of his sexual orientation. Edwin, now 22, only recently disclosed his undocumented status after a friend criticized President Obama’s immigration policy.
“I was never asked to come to the U.S.,” Edwin, who declined to provide his last name, told the Washington Blade during an interview last month. “It was my mom’s decision. I was 14. I couldn’t say yes or no. Knowing you’re in the community but you’re different; it made me seem like I’m less than everybody else.”
Edwin is among those profiled in the Familia es Familia Maryland campaign that Equality Maryland and CASA de Maryland formally launched in August to garner additional support for laws that provide in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants and marriage rights for same-sex couples ahead of Election Day.
A Gonzales Research and Marketing Strategies poll last month shows that 58 percent of Maryland voters would vote for the Dream Act in Question 4, compared with 34 percent who oppose it. The same survey finds that 51 percent of Marylanders would vote for the same-sex marriage law in Question 6, compared to 43 percent who said they oppose it.
JJ from Panamá, who asked the Blade not to use his real name because his parents are Pentecostal ministers, came out to his family last year because he said it “became harder and harder to hide who he is.” He also testified in support of the Dream Act in Annapolis before Maryland lawmakers passed it in 2011.
“Being from Montgomery County, it’s never been an issue to come out as undocumented,” JJ told the Blade before filming a pro-Question 4 ad at CASA de Maryland’s Langley Park headquarters. “It’s something everybody knew. When I was doing advocacy around it, everybody was really proud of me and know that I’ve started doing this.”
JJ (photo courtesy of Equality Maryland)
Silver Spring resident Ivette Roman, who came to the United States from Perú with her brother when she was 10, said during the August press conference at which Equality Maryland and CASA de Maryland officially launched the Familia es Familia Maryland initiative that her immigration status prevents her from receiving financial aid to attend college. She told the Blade that her friends and family remain proud of her activism on both issues, even though she said her mother did not speak to her for months after she came out to her as a lesbian.
“Some of them kind of moved away — they are kind of ashamed about the way that I am,” said Roman, 20. “My mother has been very supportive. She’s been with me on everything I’ve done.”
“Equality Maryland is pleased with the responses we are getting from the LGBT communities on our work with these LGBT youth and the issues impacting them,” said Carrie Evans, the group’s executive director. “People recognize these youth as part of our community in need of support.”
Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA de Maryland, again stressed to the Blade that his group remains committed to ensuring marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state.
“CASA de Maryland’s work in support of marriage equality flows from values and love,” he said. “As an organization with a mission that seeks to create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in low-income immigrant communities, we believe that a more just society includes mutual respect for all human rights, including equality for LGBT communities. And, we do this work out of love for our Latino LGBT brothers and sisters in our families, among our members and staff, and in our communities.”
The intersection of these two issues was the subject of a Sept. 25 panel that Torres moderated during the fifth annual National Immigrant Integration Conference in Baltimore.
Michael Crawford, director of online programs at Freedom to Marry, noted that the plight of bi-national same-sex couples “really connects the immigration and LGBTQ movements and serves as a really stark example of how the Defense of Marriage Act hurts families.” Former Equality North Carolina executive director Ian Palmquist, who is now the director of regional and program support at the Equality Federation, stressed what he described as the need to engage the women’s and other progressive social movements in the fight for LGBT equality.
“Different organizations have gone in different directions with that,” he said, referring to Equality Utah’s work with the Mormon Church to support Salt Lake City’s gay-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance that took effect in 2010. Palmquist further noted the New York Republicans who supported their state’s same-sex marriage bill that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed last year. “It’s something that we all are constantly re-evaluating and trying to figure out how we are going to be true to our values and also how to develop all the programs that we need to win.”
Ivette Roman (photo courtesy of Equality Maryland)
Back in Montgomery County, Roman remains optimistic that Maryland voters will support both the Dream Act and the state’s same-sex marriage law on Nov. 6.
“I’m very positive about it,” she said. “People who are against it [the Dream Act and same-sex marriage] are going to change their minds once they hear the stories about it. Living as a lesbian and undocumented has been very hard for me to achieve my goals. I know there’s many others who are afraid. I’m just trying to help them out because I know how it feels.”
Edwin shared a similar perspective.
“I’m pretty sure there’s a large group of people who support the Dream Act. I’m pretty sure it’s going to pass,” he said. “I think people realize we shouldn’t decide who we should be married to. It should be up to us.”
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
Maryland
Va., Md., advocates brace for next fight after Supreme Court sports ruling
Neither state has statewide ban on trans student athletes
On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to enforce laws barring transgender students from participating on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity, a decision LGBTQ advocates say could encourage additional restrictions across the country.
While neither Maryland nor Virginia currently has a statewide ban on trans student athletes, advocates say the decision could reshape future legislative battles and school policies throughout the region.
Directly following the case, attorneys for trans student athletes spoke out about the case and how detrimental it could be to students.
“This ruling is deeply harmful for transgender women and girls who only asked for the ability to participate in sports with their peers,” said Sasha Buchert, senior attorney and director of the Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project for Lambda Legal, in a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union.
The next step is figuring out how states will move forward, specifically in Maryland and Virginia.
As of right now, neither state has bans on trans athletes in schools. The new Supreme Court decision also does not require states to enact bans, only that bans are allowed if states or school districts choose to enforce them.
According to the ACLU, 27 states have banned trans youth from participating in school sports since 2020. Most of these states also require sex testing, which the organization says is invasive for all female athletes.
Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman said that while she has heard a lot of frustration following the decision, people are ready to take action.
“Families, parents and youth have lived through disappointing changes to the Virginia Department of Education’s model policies for the treatment of transgender students, and the Virginia High School League’s decades-old policy that allowed transgender students an opportunity to play sports with their friends,” Rahaman said in a statement to the Washington Blade.
She believes they are not ready to give up this fight quite yet.
As of now, trans and nonbinary students are protected under Virginia law, and Rahaman wants that to continue.
“This ruling will likely embolden right-wing members of the General Assembly to pursue trans athlete bans, and we will continue to defeat every bill like we have the past five legislative sessions. Now is our time to be proactive,” Rahaman said.
She also calls upon Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to defend trans youth in Virginia from what she describes as bullies and to continue to stand up to federal attacks on the trans community in general.
For trans students, Rahaman wants to ensure that they continue to know that they belong and have a place in school sports.
“To the transgender young people watching this decision unfold: you belong on your team, in your school, in your community, and here in Virginia. This ruling does not change that. A single Supreme Court decision cannot define your worth or your future,” Rahaman said.
For people who may be outside the community but want to help, she encourages them to speak with trans and nonbinary people in their community, befriend the families of youth to show their support, and continue to speak up on these issues when needed.
According to ACLU of Virginia, high schooler Eliza Munshi was told she could not compete on the girls’ track team because she was trans. To prove a point, she decided to compete with the boys.
She had previously competed on the girls’s track team before her Virginia school decided to enforce the ban demanded by President Donald Trump. With pink hair and pink makeup, she decided to continue her love for the sport alongside boys. According to Munshi, her entire community rallied for her.
“I did it to prove a point. I knew I could do it. I knew it wouldn’t phase me. My gender itself and that label has been the least important part of my transition: I want to look how I want to look. I want to dress how I want to dress. If you don’t like that, then that’s not my business,” Munshi said.
DOE has launched Title IX probe against Md. school districts
In the weeks leading up to the ruling, multiple Maryland school districts were included in a Title IX probe stating that not enforcing sex-based protections guaranteed by federal law. Currently, there have been no updates on the lawsuit or the district’s decisions.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, the federal probe is based on parent complaints that the school districts were violating a specific Trump-Vance administration addition to Title IX, stating it aligned the sex-based protections “with biological reality, not ideological fantasy.”
According to FreeState Justice, an LGBTQ advocacy group in Maryland, while this is a disappointing ruling to see, they will continue to fight for trans student-athletes in Maryland and want trans youth to know that they belong.
“Every young person deserves the opportunity to participate in school and community life without being singled out because of who they are. These decisions send a harmful message to transgender youth that they are somehow less deserving of that opportunity,” said Phillip Westry, the group’s executive director.
Westry wants to make sure the community knows that their commitment to the organization has not changed and will continue to provide the same legal services they have prior and to advance policy solutions, to ensure “every LGBTQ+ Marylander can live with dignity, safety, and equal opportunity.”
Another issue brought up by trans advocates is the issue of testing women to determine whether they are biologically female or not.
According to Human Rights Watch, as of 2023, World Athletics required cis women with increased testosterone levels to undergo medical procedures to have it reduced to avoid advantages. Other forms of “sex verification” may include genetic testing, screenings of an athlete’s anatomy or chromosomes.
However, this can become detrimental because not all women have ovaries, a uterus, or XX chromosomes, meaning cisgender women could potentially be included in these bans, depending on how the specific state plans to enforce them.
Maryland
Eastern Shore school board wants an 18-and-over rule for young adult books
Classics like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘Little Women’ might be off limits to most students
By LIZ BOWIE | Somerset County’s school board is considering barring students under the age of 18 from reading any young-adult literature in school libraries, essentially restricting all but 12th graders from checking out books written for teens and tweens.
The proposed policy also calls for the superintendent to discipline librarians if “adult” reading material appears in the children’s section.
The policy defines young adult as students over 18. “Young adults are not minors and books suitable for young adults shall be placed on a separate Young Adults library section to reflect age-appropriate literature,” a draft of the policy says.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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