Local
Supporters of Md. marriage law remain hopeful going into Election Day
Question 6 backers concede opposition has ‘been tough’


Silver Spring resident Deb Ferranz calls voters for Question 6 at Marylanders for Marriage Equality’s office in Silver Spring on Saturday (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Supporters of Maryland’s same-sex marriage law said over the weekend they remain optimistic voters on Election Day will support Question 6.
“I want Maryland to make history,” said Silver Spring resident Laurette Cucuzzo as she called voters from Marylanders for Maryland Equality’s office in Silver Spring on Saturday afternoon. “I’m very excited about this. My sister’s gay and I want to support everyone’s right to equality. I think it’s really important.”
Silver Spring resident Deb Ferrenz also spoke to the Washington Blade as she called voters. She has been a Marylanders for Marriage Equality volunteer for several months, but she said the issue is important to her because her lesbian daughter married in Massachusetts.
“We’re saying kind of are you aware that there is getting a change to vote for a law that lets gay and lesbian couples get legally married in our state,” Ferrenz said. “And that we think it’s a matter of fairness and we hope they agree and they are planning to vote for Question 6.”
Maegan Marcano of Northeast Washington traveled to Silver Spring to “support Maryland.” She noted to the Blade as she sat with Cucuzzo and Mai-Kim Norman of D.C. same-sex couples began to legally marry in the nation’s capital in 2010 after D.C. Council passed a bill allowing nuptials for gays and lesbians.
“We were able to do that in the District of Columbia,” said Marcano, noting the passage of the city’s same-sex marriage bill did not happen without debate and even controversy. “It’s a little heart-wrenching that people who are not involved in our lives in the gay and lesbian community have to vote on this issue so that’s why I’m here to really kind of try to get that extra push.”
A Goucher College poll released Oct. 29 found 55 percent of Marylanders support marriage rights for same-sex couples in the state, compared to 39 percent who oppose them. A Washington Post survey published Oct. 18 noted 52 percent of Maryland voters support Question 6, compared to 42 percent who said they oppose it.
A third poll the Baltimore Sun conducted between Oct. 20-23 noted only 46 percent of respondents would vote for the law Gov. Martin O’Malley signed in March.
The governor, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Chair Emeritus Julian Bond and other Question 6 supporters maintain the same-sex marriage law protects religious freedom in spite of opponents who continue to claim it does not.
“It is not a protection for churches,” said state Del. Kathy Afzali (R-Frederick County) during an anti-Question 6 rally at Baker Park in Frederick on Nov. 4. She cited Vermont innkeepers who claim a lesbian couple from New York sued them after they refused to host their wedding reception. Afzali also highlighted the suburban Boston man who maintains police arrested him in 2005 because he demanded his son’s teachers not expose him to discussions about homosexuality. “I’m not making this up. You can Google the stories. It’s true. So when they tell you that you’re protected, you are not protected.”

A van with anti-gay marriage signs and banners parked near an anti-Question 6 event at a Frederick park on Nov. 4. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
State Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington County) was among those who also spoke during the Frederick gathering that drew a few dozen people. Pastor Luke Robinson of Quinn Chapel AME Church in Frederick noted Superstorm Sandy struck New York City after Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $250,000 to Marylanders for Marriage Equality.
“We believe marriage is and should remain defined as a union of one man and one woman,” said Peter Sprigg of Family Research Council, during the same event. “The second message is, if I can paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not parish in the state of Maryland.”
Sprigg noted the Maryland Court of Appeals in 2007 upheld the state’s ban on same-sex marriages based on what the majority concluded was the state’s “legitimate interests in fostering procreation” and “encouraging the traditional family structure in which children are born are reasonably related to defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.” He also said LGBT advocates failed to spur Annapolis lawmakers to pass a same-sex marriage bill until earlier this year.
“Finally in 2012 they succeeded in pushing through this redefinition of our most fundamental social institution but we the people did not surrender,” Sprigg said. “As you heard we got at least three times the signatures needed to put this issue on the ballot. So the House of Delegates has had their say. The Senate has had their say. The governor has had their say, but on Tuesday we the people have our say.”
He further urged Maryland voters to use what he described as “simple common sense” when they go into the voting booth.
“On this issue I feel like people sometimes ignore the obvious: it takes one man and one woman to make a baby,” Sprigg said. “Marriage exists to encourage the man and woman to raise the child produced by their union. It is no disrespect to your friends or neighbors or relatives who may self-identify as gay or lesbian to say that; any more than it’s disrespectful to hard-working single parents or those living with relatives they’re not permitted to marry or those who choose not to marry at all. But the definition of marriage is not about finding the least common denominator. It’s about upholding the highest ideal. Society needs children. Children do best when they have a mom and a dad.”
Pastor Matt Braddock of Christ Congregational Church in Silver Spring disagreed with those who continue to claim Question 6 does not ensure religious freedom. More than 30 people took part in a 24-hour vigil in support of the same-sex marriage law on Nov. 2-3.
“People in this congregation who’ve been doing door-to-door canvassing I think are getting very positive messages from the households they are visiting, but the opposition has been tough,” Braddock told the Blade inside the sanctuary when asked how he feels going into Election Day. “They’ve been miscommunicating the facts and scaring people intentionally. I’ve been praying for 24 hours that people don’t believe lies and really respond generously.”
Like Braddock, gay state Sen. Rich Madaleno said he remains “guardedly optimistic” about Question 6 ahead of Tuesday.
“I feel really good about our chances,” he told the Blade at Marylanders for Marriage Equality’s Silver Spring office on Saturday afternoon. “I feel like we’ve really done almost everything we can do to put ourselves in the position to win. I’m heartened by the fact that poll after poll continues to show us ahead by substantial leads.”
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.