Local
Pro-marriage ministers plan Gallaudet protests
University mum on reinstatement of McCaskill
Angela McCaskill was placed on leave by Gallaudet University from her job as a diversity officer after it was revealed she signed an anti-gay marriage petition. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Two prominent black Baptist ministers who have been strong supporters of Maryland’s same-sex marriage law were scheduled to begin a series of weekly protest rallies outside Gallaudet University beginning Thursday, Oct. 25.
Rev Delman Coates, senior pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Prince George’s County, and Rev. Donte Hickman, senior pastor of the Southern Baptist Church, which has congregations in Baltimore City and Anne Arundel and Hartford counties, said the protests would call on the university to immediately reinstate Angela McCaskill as the school’s diversity director.
The action by the two ministers was the latest in a series of developments triggered by Gallaudet’s decision earlier this month to place McCaskill on administrative leave with pay after news surfaced that she signed a petition to place Maryland’s same-sex marriage law on the Nov. 6 ballot in a referendum.
“It is unacceptable for Dr. McCaskill to be professionally sanctioned for merely exercising her right as a citizen in our democracy,” Coates and Hickman said in a joint statement. “Our advocacy for marriage equality is about protecting the rights of all people, gays and lesbians, as well as those who may have a traditional view of marriage.”
The two added, “It is the height of hypocrisy for an institution that claims to support individual choice and freedom of expression to deprive that freedom to someone they assume has a different opinion with respect to this policy issue.”
Gallaudet’s administration issued a statement last week inviting McCaskill to meet with university officials to discuss ways she could be reinstated. But McCaskill’s attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, said at a news conference in Annapolis on the same day that his client suffered damage to her reputation as well as emotional distress over what he called her improper suspension.
Gordon said McCaskill was seeking compensation for the damages and has not ruled out a lawsuit if the university doesn’t make a “good faith” offer for her reinstatement along with compensation.
Meanwhile, with polls showing that the Maryland same-sex marriage law has a lead among voters expected to turn out for the Nov. 6 election, anti-gay groups working to defeat the marriage equality measure have used the McCaskill suspension as the theme for a TV commercial urging Maryland residents to vote ‘no’ on the marriage bill.
The ad uses video footage of McCaskill taken from the Gallaudet University website and YouTube link showing her speaking in sign language in what appears to be a classroom.
Catherine Murphy, a Gallaudet spokesperson, told the Blade on Wednesday that the university’s attorneys have called on the Maryland Marriage Alliance, the group that produced the TV ad, to take it down.
“It is copyrighted,” Murphy said. “Our attorneys asked them to take it down.”
Gordon told the Blade that McCaskill has also called on the Maryland Marriage Alliance to pull the ads with the video footage of her.
The alliance has so far refused to stop airing the ads on Maryland TV stations, saying it has no plans to do so.
“This places us in an untenable position, it’s difficult to be a proponent of the First Amendment and then have to renounce it at the same time,” Gordon told the Blade. “But what has actually occurred is that by taking her image and likeness and using it in their ad, they sort of prejudged her the same way Gallaudet prejudged her,” he said.
“If we had our druthers we would have it pulled,” Gordon said. “However, it’s Gallaudet’s place to demand that they pull the footage because it’s Gallaudet’s footage.”
Murphy said she could not comment on the status of any negotiations between McCaskill and the university over her possible reinstatement.
“That’s something the lawyers are working on,” she said.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
