Local
O’Malley: We’re going to win in Md.
Governor spoke at HRC’s “Chefs for Equality” fundraiser in D.C. for the Maryland same-sex marriage campaign.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley speaks at “Chefs for Equality” fundraiser in D.C. (Washington Blade photo by Ann Little)
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said on Wednesday he remains optimistic voters will support his state’s same-sex marriage law on Election Day.
“We’re going to win in Maryland,” he said during the Human Rights Campaign’s “Chefs for Equality” fundraiser at the Ritz-Carlton in Foggy Bottom that raised money for pro-Question 6 efforts.
O’Malley, who signed the state’s same-sex marriage law in March, stressed the campaign is $500,000 short of “securing marriage equality in Maryland at the ballot” on Nov. 6. This figure comes nearly two weeks after Marylanders for Marriage Equality reported in its campaign finance report that it had raised nearly $3.3 million.
Josh Levin, the group’s campaign director, told the Washington Blade on Oct. 12 “this is a $5 million-plus campaign and [we] hope to meet that goal as we enter the final stretch.”
“Never before have the people of one state affirmed the dignity of every individual, the importance of protecting under the law equally every child’s home until this upcoming election,” said O’Malley to those who attended the fundraiser that Tim Gunn of “Project Runway” emceed. “Your presence here tonight can be the difference of whether we succeed or whether we fail. We have raised a lot of dollars and now we are running ahead, but we have seen this before.”
HRC President Chad Griffin urged those who attended the fundraiser not to become complacent in the final days leading up to the Nov. 6 referendum.
“I come here from California. I lived through Proposition 8 where we saw our numbers evaporate at the end,” he said. “Because of what the opposition does — they come in late and they come in with their millions and it’s where they use their funds: to pour advertising dollars on television and mail into your mail into your mailbox and calls onto your voice mail. They’re irritating as hell. They’re lies, and they’re scare tactics, but it’s too late for us to counter it. Well this time we’re ready for it, but we can’t slow down. We can’t let up. In these next 13 days, we have got to contribute and raise everything we can. We’ve got to make every phone call we can and we’ve got to knock on every single door we can and not rest until the last vote is counted in Maryland.”
The amount of money raised during the fundraiser that featured food, cocktails and desserts from dozens of local chefs and bartenders was not immediately available. HRC has given more than $1 million in cash and in-kind donations to the pro-Question 6 campaign, including two $150,000 contributions made to Marylanders for Marriage Equality and the NAACP Maryland Marriage PAC on Oct. 15.
A Washington Post poll published on Oct. 18 found 52 percent of Maryland voters support Question 6, compared to 42 percent who said they oppose it.
Chevy Chase resident Susie Gelman and her husband hosted a Marylanders for Marriage Equality fundraiser at their home in July that raised $250,000. She said the issue of marriage rights for same-sex couples became personal when her son could not marry his partner in Maryland last summer.
“I realized that I needed to do my part to make sure that no other son or daughter of Maryland could be denied a basic civil right,” said Gelman.
Gunn, who grew up in D.C. and attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design, told the Blade during the fundraiser he feels same-sex couples should have the ability to marry in every state.
“I profoundly believe it should be a Supreme Court issue, but it’s not yet. And hopefully it would be,” he said. “For me there’s something of a metaphor about marriage equality in Maryland being on the ballot with these two polarities of presidential candidates. And we know what we need to do.”
Gunn added he remains somewhat hopeful Question 6 will pass.
“I almost get tearful about this: I’d like to be very optimistic. I just hope people come out and vote,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of — I wouldn’t even call it complacency. There’s a feeling of well so-and-so will do this. So-and-so will vote. You have to show up and shine and do your civic responsibility. It’s part of navigating this world and being a citizen of this nation. It’s so critically important.”
Tim Gunn of “Project Runway” emcees HRC’s “Chefs for Equality” fundraiser (Washington Blade photo by Ann Little)
Baltimore
‘Heated Rivalry’ fandom exposes LGBTQ divide in Baltimore
Hit show raises questions about identity, cultural representation
By JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | “Heated Rivalry,” the surprise gay hockey romance that has captivated global audiences and become a cultural phenomenon, has inspired sold-out parties celebrating the characters from the steamy series, including in Baltimore.
For some, love of the show has exposed the loss of a once-vibrant gay nightlife in Charm City and splintered its LGBTQ community. It also brings up layered questions about identity, cultural representation, and the limits of identity politics.
In Baltimore, the majority of the parties also appear to be missing a key ingredient that has been a part of the show’s success: gay men at the helm. Last month, women hosted a dance party at Ottobar, a straight establishment.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Virginia
McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates
Gay Alexandria City Council member becomes 8th LGBTQ member of legislature
Gay Alexandria City Council member Kirk McPike emerged as the decisive winner in a Feb. 10 special election for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Alexandria.
McPike, a Democrat, received 81.5 percent of the vote in his race against Republican Mason Butler, according to the local publication ALX Now.
He first won election to the Alexandria Council in 2021. He will be filling the House of Delegates seat being vacated by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-Alexandria), who won in another Feb. 10 special election for the Virginia State Senate seat being vacated by gay Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria).
Ebbin is resigning from his Senate next week to take a position with Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration.
Upon taking his 5th District seat in the House of Delegate, McPike will become the eighth out LGBTQ member of the Virginia General Assembly. Among those he will be joining is Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who became the Virginia Legislature’s first transgender member when she won election to the House of Delegates in 2017 before being elected to the Senate in 2023.
“I look forward to continuing to work to address our housing crisis, the challenge of climate change, and the damaging impacts of the Trump administration on the immigrant families, LGBTQ+ Virginians, and federal employees who call Alexandria home,” McPike said in a statement after winning the Democratic nomination for the seat in a special primary held on Jan. 20.
McPike, a longtime LGBTQ rights advocate, has served for the past 13 years as chief of staff for gay U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and has remained in that position during his tenure on the Alexandria Council. He said he will resign from that position before taking office in the House of Delegates.
Local
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
Rayceen Pendarvis to moderate Dupont Underground panel on Sunday
LGBTQ groups in D.C. and elsewhere plan to use Black History Month as an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate Black lives and experiences.
Team Rayceen Productions has no specific events planned, but co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis will attend many functions around D.C. this month.
Pendarvis, a longtime voice in the LGBTQ community in D.C. moderated a panel at Dupont Underground on Feb. 8. The event, “Every (Body) Wants to Be a Showgirl,” will feature art from Black burlesque artists from around the country. Pendarvis on Feb. 23 will attend the showing of multimedia play at the Lincoln Theatre that commemorates the life of James Baldwin.
Equality Virginia plans to prioritize Black voices through a weekly online series, and community-based story telling. The online digital series will center Black LGBTQ voices, specifically trailblazers and activists, and contemporary Black queer and transgender people.
Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director, stressed the importance of the Black queer community to the overall Pride movement, and said “Equality Virginia is proud to center those voices in our work this month and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, which hosts Pride events in D.C., has an alliance with the Center for Black Equity, which brings Black Pride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. The National LGBTQ Task Force has no specific Black History Month events planned, but plans to participate in online collaborations.
Cathy Renna, the Task Force’s director of communications, told the Washington Blade the organization remains committed to uplifting Black voices. “Our priority is keeping this at the forefront everyday,” she said.
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center is also hosting a series of Black History Month events.
The D.C. Public Library earlier this year launched “Freedom and Resistance,” an exhibition that celebrates Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. It will remain on display until the middle of March at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W.
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McPike wins special election for Va. House of Delegates
Top Democrats re-introduce trans bill of rights
A dozen Senegalese men arrested for ‘unnatural acts’
Shooter who killed 7 people inside Canada school was transgender
