Local
BREAKING: Non-discrimination bill passes in Va. Senate
Lawmakers approved SB 701 by 24-16 vote margin
Gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin is a Senate Bill 701 co-sponsor (Photo courtesy of Adam Ebbin)
The Virginia Senate on Friday approved a bill that would ban anti-LGBT discrimination against state employees.
The 24-16 vote came four days after the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee narrowly approved Senate Bill 701.
“No state employee should ever doubt Virginia’s commitment to equal opportunity employment for all,”gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria,) who co-sponsored SB 701 with Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico,) said as he spoke in support of the measure on the Senate floor. “This bill assures state employees that they will be judged solely on their merits and that discrimination has no place in Virginia.”
State Sens. Jill Hotzman Vogel (R-Fauquier,) John Watkins (R-Powhatan,) Thomas Norment (R-Williamsburg) and Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach) are the four GOP legislators who voted for SB 701. Democratic Sens. Kenneth Alexander, George Barker, R. Creigh Deeds, John Edwards, Barbara Favola, Mark Herring, Janet Howell, Mamie Locke, David Marsden, Henry L. Marsh III, John Miller, Ralph Northam, Phillip Puckett, Linda Puller, Richard Saslaw, Charles Colgan, Chap Petersen, and Louise Lucas also backed the measure alongside Ebbin and McEachin.
“In Virginia, LGBT protections will not pass without bi-partisan support,” Equality Virginia Executive Director James Parrish said. “We are pleased that four Republican senators joined their Democratic colleagues in passing SB701 to protect LGBT state employees. In the private sector, workplace protections are shown to decrease legal vulnerability while enhancing the employer’s reputation, increasing job satisfaction and boosting employee morale and productivity.”
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, who in 2005 signed an executive order as governor that banned anti-gay discrimination against state employees, also applauded the state Senate for approving SB 701.
“I was proud to be the first Virginia governor to protect gay workers at state agencies from discrimination in hiring and promotions. I viewed it as a powerful tool for recruiting and retaining top talent across state government,” he said in a statement. “Today, the principals of equal opportunity and fairness represent official policy for virtually every major employer in Virginia and across the country. I am very, very pleased today to see the Virginia Senate approve this commonsense protection for Virginia’s LGBT workers, making equal opportunity for state and local government employees a permanent part of the Code of Virginia so that it does not have to be renewed every four years through an executive order.”
In spite of the Senate’s approval of SB 710, the measure faces an uphill battle in the GOP-controlled House of Delegates.
Parrish told the Blade last year that its chances of passing in the chamber this year remain “very slim.”
“Making sure elected official hear LGBT issues are important to all Virginians is the most important thing any citizen can do to open hearts and minds across the state,” he said in reference to Equality Virginia’s annual Lobby Day that will take place in Richmond on Tuesday. “We’re very fortunate the Senators that voted in support today are listening to their constituents.”
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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