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Gray: Obama to ‘vocally’ back gay marriage

Mayor joined others who welcomed Obama’s second inaugural address.

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Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, inauguration 2013, gay news, Washington Blade
Vincent Gray, Transgender Remembrance Day, gay news, Washington Blade

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

LGBT advocates and others who gathered inside the Wilson building in D.C. on Monday to watch President Obama’s second inauguration applauded his inaugural address.

Mayor Vincent Gray told the Washington Blade shortly after the president delivered his speech that he expects him to be “vocally supportive of marriage equality for the next four years.ā€ Alexandra Beninda, a transgender member of the D.C. Commission on Human Rights, said she welcomed Obama’s reference to marriage rights for same-sex couples, gays and lesbians, immigration and other issues.

ā€œHe hit on a number of good issues,ā€ she told the Blade as she sat in an office overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue while awaiting the inaugural parade to begin.

When asked to comment on the lack of trans-specific references in Obama’s speech, Beninda noted an LGBT-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act and other issues remain ā€œvery important.ā€ She said she does not expect Congress to act on the long-stalled measure during the president’s second term. Beninda added, however, she does not rule out the possibility of Obama issuing an executive order that would bar employers from firing their employees based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

ā€œHe doesn’t have to worry about how things are going to look in terms of getting re-elected and getting various people on his side,ā€ she said. ā€œIn a second term, presidents are usually looking for building their legacy and how they’re going to be looked at in the long run. They are more inclined to want to get major accomplishments that they can. I think certainly things like ENDA should be on the forefront.ā€

Gray and others also noted the White House’s decision to place D.C. license plates with the ā€œTaxation Without Representationā€ slogan onto the presidential limousine.

ā€œIt’s coming together, but we also know that even with the license plates on we have a long distance to travel,ā€ the mayor said in response to a question WTOP reporter Mark Segraves asked about whether the move would bolster D.C. statehood efforts. ā€œI hope that it symbolizes that he [Obama] intends to be more active on issues affecting the District and I think a great place for him to signal that further would be in the State of the Union speech.ā€

Jeffrey Richardson, the mayor’s former LGBT liaison who now directs Gray’s Office of Volunteerism that is also known as Serve D.C., agreed.

ā€œIt’s just exciting to think about democracy in action,ā€ he told the Blade just before Obama arrived at the U.S. Capitol. ā€œHopefully that will translate to some democracy in action for us in the District in ending our lack of representation.ā€

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Maryland

A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center

Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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Tavish Forsyth, a queer artist and educator, posted a nude video on YouTube in protest of the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.

So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.

ā€œF—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,ā€ a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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District of Columbia

Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw

School teacher, D.C. resident praised for ā€˜warmth, humor, kindness’

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Patrick Shaw (Photo via GoFundMe)

Co-workers and friends will hold a celebration of life for highly acclaimed schoolteacher and D.C. resident Patrick Shaw beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at The Little Gay Pub 1100 P St., N.W.

Little Gay Pub co-owner and Shaw’s friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.

ā€œPatrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,ā€ Martinez said. ā€œHe was a truly special soul – funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.ā€

In an Instagram posting, Shaw’s colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.’s Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.

ā€œPatrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,ā€ his colleagues said in their posting. ā€œHis daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.ā€

The posted message adds, ā€œPatrick was more than a teacher; he was a light in our school, inspiring us all to show up with heart, humor, and kindness every day. His spirit will be deeply missed.ā€

The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon. 

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District of Columbia

D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case

Victim threatened with assault, called ā€˜faggot’ as he left Capitals game

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D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera.

D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera after he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs and threatened to assault a man at 6th and H Streets, N.W. on March 20 at about 9:54 p.m.

A police report says the victim told police the incident took place shortly after he exited the nearby Capital One Arena where he had attended a Washington Capitals hockey game.

The police report says the incident began when the victim saw the suspect yell a racist slur at a person behind the victim and started to berate a valet operator.

ā€œSuspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a ā€˜faggot’ among other homophobic slurs,ā€ the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and ā€œsnatchingā€ the phone from the victim’s hand.

ā€œSuspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,ā€ the report continues. ā€œSuspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed ā€˜if you keep recording, I’m going to kick your ass.ā€™ā€ The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.

It lists the incident as a ā€œThreats To Do Bodily Harmā€ offense that is a suspected hate crime.

ā€œAnyone who can identify this suspect or has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099, or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411,ā€ according to a separate police statement released April 23.

The statement says police currently offer an award of up to $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.

D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the case has been under investigation since the incident occurred on March 20. He said the video image of the suspect, most likely obtained from a security camera from a nearby business, was released to the public as soon as it was obtained and processed through the investigation.

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