Local
Clergy speak out against Md. same-sex marriage law
Religious leaders gathered at Beltsville hotel four days before Election Day
Maryland Marriage Alliance Chair Derek McCoy speaks during Beltsville press conference on Friday with dozens of clergy against Question 6. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
BELTSVILLE, Md.—Dozens of religious leaders from across Maryland and D.C. gathered in Prince George’s County on Friday to express their opposition to Question 6.
“We’re all here today not because of what we’re against, but because of what we’re for,” said Rev. Frank Reid of Bethel AME Church in Baltimore during a press conference at the Sheraton Washington North Hotel in Beltsville.
He stressed Question 6 opponents have dealt with the issue “very positively” and “tolerantly” without “putting anybody down or calling anybody names.” Reid added there is what he described as confusion going into Election Day.
“The first confusion is this is not just a Question 6 election,” he said. “This is also a presidential election. And there are many who want to confuse us and say that if you vote for this or against this you are voting for or against a certain party or a certain candidate. That is not true. This is a faith and freedom issue and it is possible to vote for a candidate and vote for or against Question 6, so we don’t want any confusion that we are here against one candidate or for another candidate. That is not our concern. Our focus is very clear on Question 6: Vote against Question 6 and then vote for whatever candidate you want.”
Bishop Angel Nuñez of Bilingual Christian Church in Baltimore questioned whether Question 6 will protect religious freedom as Gov. Martin O’Malley, Revs. Delman Coates of Mount Ennon Baptist Church in Prince George’s County and Donté Hickman of Southern Baptist Church in Baltimore and others who support the law continue to maintain.
“It seems like the language in the ballot goes out of its way to convince voters that churches will not be affected. In reality, non-profits, individuals and private businesses are at risk,” said Nuñez. “In the actual law, it is clear that any church that receives state funds is not safe.”
Reverend Pierre Bynum of the Family Research Council argued Catholic Charities was forced to end adoptions in several states because they refused to place children with gay parents. He said more than 60,000 people have signed a petition urging Gallaudet University to reinstate Dr. Angela McCaskill, a senior administrator who remains on administrative leave for supporting the referendum on Maryland’s same-sex marriage law.
“The problem is we’re going to see that over and over and over times thousands,” said Bynum. “Since just this petition went out to give people an opportunity to vote, there’s so many different things that have taken place including all of the people who signed the petition having their names published in a newspaper and getting telephone calls and visits from people who are antagonistic toward them.”
A Goucher College poll released earlier this week found 55 percent of Marylanders support marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state, compared to 39 percent who oppose them. A Baltimore Sun survey conducted between Oct. 20-23 noted only 46 percent of respondents would vote for the law.
Reverend Alfred Deas, Jr., of Metropolitan AME Church in Cumberland disagreed with the civil rights organization’s support of Question 6 and marriage rights for same-sex couples.
“I unfortunately believe that they have stepped out on I believe the wrong side of history,” he said, noting he took part in the 1963 March on Washington with a local NAACP chapter. “It is not a civil rights issue. Gays have not gone through what we’ve gone through. And to compare the two is just wrong.”
The press conference also took place two weeks after Rev. Robert Anderson of Colonial Baptist Church in Randallstown suggested during a town hall meeting on Question 6 that those who practice homosexuality and approve it are “deserving of death.” A California pastor described gay men as “predators” who seek to indoctrinate children during an anti-gay marriage gathering that Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, Maryland Marriage Alliance Chair Derek McCoy, Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville and roughly 100 others attended at a Baltimore church on Oct. 21.
McCoy again defended Anderson when the Washington Blade asked him and other assembled clergy to respond to criticisms over what Question 6 supporters maintain is the use of homophobic rhetoric against the law.
“Nobody here endorses violence, endorses bullying of any sort in any stance,” said McCoy. “We stand collectively to love our community, to love the constituents who are in our churches and within our broader community in the state of Maryland.”
He said those who criticized Anderson’s use of scripture to speak against Question 6 misinterpreted his remarks.
“As a matter of fact, we believe when Dr. Anderson was using that, it was taken grossly out of context,” said McCoy.
Pastor John K. Jenkins, Sr., of First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro acknowledged the church has not previously “responded well to the homosexual lesbian community.” Reid referred to Michael Eric Dyson of Georgetown University who asked on MSNBC shortly after President Obama publicly backed marriage rights for same-sex couples whether those within the black church who oppose the issue want to become “sexual rednecks.”
“That kind of language has no place in America,” he said. “We should be able to disagree without being disagreeable.”
Father Erik Arnold of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Pastor Anthony Maclin of the Collective Empowerment Group in Riverdale, Jackson and an imam from the Islamic Center of Washington were among those who also attended the press conference.
District of Columbia
Blade contributor, husband exchange vows in D.C.
Yariel Valdés and Kevin Vega held ceremony at Jefferson Memorial on March 23
Washington Blade contributor Yariel Valdés and his husband, Kevin Vega, exchanged vows at the Jefferson Memorial on March 23.
The couple married in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 24, 2025. The Jefferson Memorial ceremony — which Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Samy Nemir Olivares officiated — coincided with the third anniversary of Yariel and Kevin’s first date.
Yariel in 2019 asked for asylum in the U.S. because of the persecution he suffered as a journalist in his native Cuba. He spent nearly a year in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before his release on March 4, 2020.
Yariel wrote a series of articles about his time in ICE custody that the Blade published. The series was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2022.
Yariel and Kevin live in South Florida.
District of Columbia
‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar
Mayoral candidate cites record of longtime support for LGBTQ rights
More than 100 people filled the upstairs room of the D.C. gay bar Number 9 on Thursday night, March 26, to listen to D.C. mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie at an event promoted as an “Out for McDuffie” meet and greet session.
Several local LGBTQ activists who attended the event said they support McDuffie, a former D.C. Council member, in his run for mayor while others said they had not yet decided whom to vote for in the June 16 D.C. Democratic primary election.
As of March 27, eight other Democrats were competing against McDuffy in the June 16 primary, including D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), considered McDuffie’s lead opponent. Lewis George also has a record of strong support on LGBTQ issues.
Most political observers consider McDuffie and Lewis George the two lead candidates in the race, with the others having far less name recognition.
The two lead organizers of the Out for McDuffie event were LGBTQ rights advocates Courtney Snowden, a former D.C. deputy mayor in the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Cesar Toledo, a local LGBTQ youth housing services advocate.
“I’m a candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C. and I’m running for mayor because I love this city,” McDuffie told the gathering after being introduced by Snowden. “And now more than ever we need leadership to take us to the future,” he said, adding that he and his administration would “stand up and fight” against President Donald Trump’s efforts to intervene in local D.C. affairs.
“Our strength is in the 700,000 beautifully diverse residents of Washington, D.C.” he told the gathering. “And as Courtney said, I didn’t just show up and run for mayor and then start saying that I’m going to be an ally for the queer community, for the LGBTQ+ community,” he said, “I’ve lived my entire professional life fighting for justice and fighting for fairness.”
Following his speech, McDuffie told the Washington Blade, “We’re going to fight to protect our LGBTQ+ community every single day. That’s what I’ve spent my career doing, making sure we have a beautifully diverse and inclusive city.”
He remained at Number 9, located at 1435 P St., N.W., for nearly an hour after he spoke, chatting with attendees.
District of Columbia
‘No Kings’ protests set for D.C.
Anti-Trump demonstrations to take place across country on Saturday
As President Donald Trump and his administration escalate rhetoric targeting transgender youth and student athletes, push efforts to restrict voting access for millions of Americans, and pursue foreign policy decisions that critics say bypass congressional authority, organizers across the country are once again mobilizing in protest.
For many LGBTQ advocates, the moment feels especially urgent.
In recent months, activists have pointed to a surge in anti-trans legislation, attacks on gender-affirming care, and efforts to roll back nondiscrimination protections as direct threats to the safety and visibility of queer and trans communities. Organizers say the demonstrations are not just about policy, but about defending the right of LGBTQ people — particularly trans youth and people of color — to live openly and safely.
Thousands of “No Kings” protests are planned nationwide, with multiple demonstrations set to take place in D.C.
One of the primary events, “No Kings Washington,” will be held in Anacostia, an overwhelmingly Black area of D.C. that is often at the center of conversations around racial justice, policing, and access to resources in the nation’s capital.
The protest in Anacostia is focused on what organizers describe as the “power behind the throne,” specifically Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor. Miller has been closely associated with the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy, including the family separation practice that resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents at the Southern border.
Activists have also linked immigration enforcement policies to broader concerns about LGBTQ migrants, including queer asylum seekers who often face heightened risks of violence and discrimination both in their home countries and within detention systems.
Anacostia protest details:
Participants are asked to gather starting at 1:30 p.m. on the southeast side of the Frederick Douglass Bridge. The closest Metro station is Anacostia on the Green Line, about an 8-minute walk from the starting point. Organizers strongly encourage attendees to use public transportation, as street parking is limited.
The march will proceed past Fort McNair and conclude near the Waterfront Metro station.
D.C. icon and LGBTQ activist Rayceen Pendarvis is set to speak at the protest around 2 p.m.
Kalorama protest details:
A separate protest will take place earlier in the day in Kalorama, a neighborhood long associated with political power and home to presidents, cabinet officials, and foreign ambassadors. Demonstrators are expected to gather at 10 a.m., with a march running until approximately noon near the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Kalorama Road.
Arlington/National Mall protest details:
Another group is expected to assemble at Memorial Circle near Arlington National Cemetery at 10 a.m. before crossing the Memorial Bridge into D.C., passing the Lincoln Memorial and continuing on to the Washington Monument. Organizers say the march is intended to defend “American democracy, the rule of law, and a healthy planet.”
Unlike last June — when organizers discouraged large-scale demonstrations in D.C. due Trump’s military/birthday parade — activists are now explicitly calling on people to show up in the nation’s capital and surrounding areas.
The protests also coincide with Transgender Day of Visibility weekend, which includes additional gatherings and celebrations on the National Mall. At the same time, peak bloom for the National Cherry Blossom Festival is expected to draw large crowds to the city. With multiple major events happening simultaneously, officials and organizers anticipate significant congestion, increased traffic, and crowded public transit throughout the weekend.
Organizers are urging participants to plan ahead and come prepared.
“Bring your signs, noisemakers, music, and creative ideas, and gather in joyful, nonviolent protest,” they said. “Children are very welcome.”
For more information, visit nokings.org.
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