Local

Estate to create Kameny Foundation

Will promote LGBT rights causes, provide scholarships to LGBT youth and establish guidelines for using “Gay is Good” slogan

Published

12 years ago

November 15, 2012

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Frank Kameny died last year. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The estate of the late gay rights leader Frank Kameny is taking steps to create a non-profit foundation to promote LGBT rights causes, provide scholarships to LGBT young people and establish guidelines for using Kameny’s “Gay is Good” slogan, according to an attorney representing the estate.

“The estate is in the process of organizing the Franklin E. Kameny Foundation for the purpose of preserving Dr. Kameny’s legacy and promoting public awareness of the need for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equal rights,” said attorney Glen Ackerman.

The announcement of the creation of the Kameny Foundation came less than a week after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a preliminary denial of an application by the Kameny estate for a trademark to restrict the use of the “Gay is Good” slogan, which Kameny coined in 1968 to promote gay rights causes.

Several gay activists have raised objections to the idea of placing a trademark on the well-known slogan, saying Kameny intended the slogan to be used by the LGBT community without restrictions.

In a written notice, which is part of the public record, a USPTO official said the trademark application failed to properly demonstrate how the phrase would be used in interstate commerce, as required under the U.S. trademark law.

A USPTO spokesperson told the Blade the trademark law has been interpreted broadly to allow non-profit organizations to obtain trademarks for non-commercial use as long as such organizations engage in activities or provide services that cross state lines and fall under the definition of “commerce.”

The estate has six months to revise and resubmit its application under USPTO rules.

Ackerman said the Kameny estate is “committed to working with” the USPTO to obtain a trademark for the Gay is Good slogan.

According to Ackerman, the estate will or has invited at least six prominent gay rights leaders or academic experts to serve on the Kameny Foundation’s board of directors. Among them, he said, are Christopher Dyer, former director of the city’s Office of GLBT Affairs; Charles Francis, founder of the Kameny Papers Project, which facilitated the sale and transfer of most of Kameny’s historic papers and other items to the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution’s American History Museum; Timothy Patrick McCarty, lecturer and director of the Human Rights and Social Movement Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government; Richard Rosendall, longtime D.C. gay rights advocate and an official with the Kameny Papers Project; and Joe Solmonese, former executive director of the Human Rights Campaign.

He said Timothy Lamont Clark, whom Kameny named in his will as his heir and the executor of his estate, will also serve on the foundation board along with Ackerman’s law firm partner, J. Max Barger, the estate’s legal representative.

Ackerman said the foundation would be charged with establishing guidelines for use of the Gay is Good slogan by organizations and individuals working to advance LGBT equality.

Dyer, who called the creation of the Kameny Foundation a “great idea,” said he was uncertain whether other work-related commitments would allow him time to serve on the foundation’s board. He said he was troubled over a dispute between the estate and the local group Helping Our Brothers and Sisters, which has resulted in a delay in the burial of Kameny’s ashes, and isn’t inclined to join the board until the dispute is resolved.

Rosendall said he has declined the estate’s invitation to join the foundation board. The others named as possible board members couldn’t immediately be reached.

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Virginia

Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note

Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

Published

15 hours ago

May 4, 2025

Staff reports

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at CPAC in 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.

Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.

The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.

“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”

Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.

She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.

John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.

Reid has strongly denied the reports.

World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Venus Valhalla performs at Pitchers. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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

Published

3 days ago

May 2, 2025

Michael K. Lavers

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

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.