Local
Arora explains ‘no’ vote on marriage
Md. lawmaker wants to ‘move forward’ after breaking campaign pledge
Maryland Del. Sam Arora (Photo courtesy Arora’s office)
Maryland Del. Sam Arora (D-Montgomery County) — who campaigned on a pledge to support a marriage equality bill then voted against it — has offered his first public explanation for the vote.
“A lot of us wanted the goal of full legal equality for all couples,” Arora said during a Jan. 8 segment of NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt in response to a question from David Moon of Maryland Juice, a website that covers state politics. “We had different ways of getting there. Ultimately the governor’s bill passed, the voters approved it and I think one thing we can all celebrate is that gay and lesbian couples will have all the same legal rights as straight couples have and the state’s going to move forward now and there’s a lot more to it.”
Arora also referenced an amendment that he, Del. Geraldine Valentino-Smith (D-Prince George’s County) and former Del. Tiffany Alston introduced that would have replaced marriage with civil unions in the bill — he directed the Washington Blade to it in response to a request for comment on Moon’s question. Arora has refused the Blade’s many interview requests since his 2012 vote, which was assailed by LGBT advocates across the state.
Members of the House Judiciary and Health and Government Operations Committees on Feb. 14, 2012, voted 27-17 to table the measure. Arora subsequently voted against the marriage bill that Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law a few weeks later.
“I’ve talked to a lot of voters about it… I wanted full legal equality,” Arora said in response to Moon’s question. “I originally thought that this bill was the right way to go. I then said I think there’s a different way to go and I proposed an amendment and that wasn’t the way the state ended up going, which is fine. The voters have approved this and now we move forward.”
Del. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City) told the Blade she and other members of the legislature’s gay and lesbian caucus were advocating for nuptials for gays and lesbians ahead of last February’s vote.
“We were pushing for full marriage equality and that civil unions has been found to be inadequate,” she said. “In fact states that have civil unions are actually now looking to full marriage equality. Fortunately now we’re able to move forward and I agree that we can all move forward.”
Arora, who campaigned in support of nuptials for gays and lesbians in Maryland during his 2010 campaign, co-sponsored a same-sex marriage bill at the start of the 2011 legislative session. His subsequent opposition to the measure sparked outrage among LGBT advocates and his supporters.
Joshua Lapidus, who resigned as Arora’s legislative director in protest of the “no” vote, suggested in his resignation letter the Blade obtained that the delegate’s faith contributed to his position.
“I respect you and your beliefs, however I cannot respect your decision to place personal religious belief over the roles and responsibilities of the stewardship the people of District 19 entrusted unto you,” Lapidus wrote. “It saddens me that you are standing against the tide of history and ending your career over an issue that will no doubt be decided in the affirmative, with or without your vote, over the next couple years. So, I write this letter to inform you that if you don’t vote for [House Bill 438] I can no longer work under your employ.”
Moon questioned Arora’s response to his question.
“I find his comments to be pretty unresponsive,” he told the Blade. “I don’t think people are wondering whether he supported civil unions. The debate in Maryland was obviously about the marriage equality legislation, not with civil unions as an alternative. That wasn’t even a realistic option on the table for most public advocates when the bill finally went through. The question that fundamentally remains is why did Sam Arora campaign on the issue and change his vote.”
Moon expressed further skepticism about the delegate’s explanation of why he changed his position on marriage rights for same-sex couples.
“I do continue to find it baffling that he just simply won’t give a straight answer on this,” he said. “I haven’t heard anyone that found this to be a satisfactory explanation.”
Arora did not immediately respond to the Blade’s follow-up request for comment.
Maryland
Parents sue Anne Arundel schools, allege officials hid child’s gender transition
America First legal Foundation filed lawsuit on July 8
By CODY BOTELER | Two parents, backed by a conservative nonprofit group, are suing Anne Arundel County Public Schools over the school system’s policies related to transgender children.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, accuses staff at an unidentified county high school of lying to the parents, identified as John Doe and Jane Doe, about their child, identified as Mary Doe.
The Does allege the school “socially transitioned” their child without notice or their consent by using a masculine name and masculine pronouns for Mary Doe.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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