Local
Cummings to vote ‘in support’ of Md. same-sex marriage law
Baltimore congressman said he identifies with President Obama’s evolution on same-sex marriage
Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings represents Baltimore City.
A Baltimore congressman who has yet to publicly back nuptials for gays and lesbians told the Washington Blade late on Wednesday he plans to vote for his state’s same-sex marriage law on Nov. 6.
“I respect and support the decision of the Maryland legislature and will vote in support of Question 6,” said U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings.
Cummings spoke to the Blade two days after Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger announced his support of same-sex marriage during a debate against his opponent, state Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Baltimore County,) in Cockeysville. Maryland Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin and the rest of the state’s Democratic congressional delegation all support the same-sex marriage law.
“Ultimately, I identify with President Obama’s evolution on the topic of same-sex marriage,” said Cummings. “When you come from a religious background where you’ve been taught all your life that marriage is between a man and a woman, and then you find yourself looking at how a society is changing and how many in your own community are seeing the issue in terms of fairness and equality, it makes you re-think your position.”
A Washington Post poll last week found 52 percent of Maryland voters support Question 6, compared to 42 percent who said they oppose it.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said during a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser in D.C. on Wednesday he remains optimistic voters will support Question 6 on Election Day. He spoke hours after the Maryland Marriage Alliance announced it had begun airing radio commercials that feature Dr. Alveda King, niece of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
She criticizes the Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for endorsing marriage rights for same-sex couples and Question 6.
“I understand the civil rights struggle. During the civil rights movement, we were working for access to education, to decent housings, jobs and health care,” says Alveda King in the ad. “As a minister, I believe that the NAACP leadership and gay rights activists have formed an unholy alliance by trying to convince you and me that marriage should be redefined. We did not define marriage. And we cannot redefine marriage. Marriage by definition is a holy union between one man and one woman.”
The NAACP did not immediately respond to the Blade’s request for comment on the anti-Question 6.
Meanwhile, a group of Maryland Jewish leaders held a press conference earlier today at a Baltimore synagogue to back the state’s same-sex marriage law. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who donated $250,000 to Marylanders for Marriage Equality earlier this month, is scheduled to attend a separate press conference with O’Malley and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on Friday.
Freedom to Marry also on Thursday announced a $100,000 contribution to the pro-Question 6 campaign that paid for a Marylanders for Marriage Equality ad that features two women discussing President Obama’s support of marriage rights for same-sex couples and a second with NAACP Chair Emeritus Julian Bond
“Freedom to Marry’s investment comes at a key moment, and helps us accomplish an important goal,” said Josh Levin, campaign manager of Marylanders for Marriage Equality. “The radio spot we launched today ensures that voters hear President Obama’s heartfelt and compelling explanation of his journey to support marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Marylanders will identify with those same values – fairness, being a good role model for their kids – and will make the decision to vote for Question 6.”
The group announced its contribution on the same day black clergy who support and oppose Maryland’s same-sex marriage law protested the suspension of Gallaudet University’s chief diversity officer, Dr. Angela McCaskill, after she signed the petition that prompted the same-sex marriage referendum. They gathered outside the Northeast D.C. campus.
Maryland
Parents sue Anne Arundel schools, allege officials hid child’s gender transition
America First legal Foundation filed lawsuit on July 8
By CODY BOTELER | Two parents, backed by a conservative nonprofit group, are suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools over the school system’s policies related to transgender children.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, accuses staff at an unidentified county high school of lying to the parents, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, about their child, identified as Mary Doe.
The Does allege the school “socially transitioned” their child without notice or their consent by using a masculine name and masculine pronouns for Mary Doe.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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