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Del. advocates optimistic ahead of marriage debate

Governor backs nuptials for gays and lesbians

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Jack Markell, gay news, Washington Blade

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (Photo by Molly Keresztury via Wikimedia)

Marriage equality advocates in Delaware continue to organize in advance of the expected introduction of a bill later this year that would allow gays and lesbians to tie the knot in the First State.

More than 150 people attended an Equality Delaware-sponsored town hall meeting in Wilmington on Jan. 30 at which U.S. Sen. Chris Coons spoke. A second gathering that drew nearly the same amount of people took place at Camp Rehoboth in Rehoboth Beach on Jan. 31.

Equality Delaware President Lisa Goodman told the Washington Blade her group continues to work with the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry, the Gill Foundation, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and other national and local organizations on the issue.

The organization is holding weekly volunteer events, trainings and phone banks across the state to garner further support for marriage rights for same-sex couples. Goodman said Equality Delaware also continues to engage people of faith and communities of color on the issue.

ā€œWe are doing a very serious and robust faith outreach,ā€ she told the Blade. ā€œWe had wonderful faith support for the civil union bill, and we are very confident that we will have an even broader-based faith support for the marriage effort. We also believe that we will have even broader support of people of color and across the board.ā€

Gov. Jack Markell, who signed Delawareā€™s civil unions bill into law in 2011, suggested to the Huffington Post last August that state lawmakers could debate a same-sex marriage bill during the 2013 legislative session that ends on June 30. He referenced the looming debate in his second inaugural speech last month.

ā€œWe will advance the cause of liberty, equality and dignity in our time,ā€ Markell said. ā€œOur state will be a welcoming place to live, to love and to raise families for all who choose to call Delaware home.ā€

Goodman did not provide a specific timeline in which she feels lawmakers would consider the issue, but stressed ā€œwe expect it to happen later this session.ā€ She further noted House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach) and Senate President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins (D-Elsmere) are among the lawmakers and other state officials who support marriage rights for same-sex couples.

ā€œObviously given the events of this last election cycle, there is a lot of momentum,ā€ Goodman told the Blade.

Neighboring Maryland is among the nine states and D.C. that allow same-sex marriage.

An Illinois Senate committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to the knot, while the Rhode Island House of Representatives last month overwhelmingly approved a same-sex marriage measure.

Hawaii lawmakers on Jan. 24 introduced two proposals that would extend nuptials to gays and lesbians in the Aloha State. New Jersey legislators in the coming weeks are expected to once again debate the issue after Gov. Chris Christie last February vetoed a same-sex marriage bill they approved.

ā€œEvery state that passes a marriage equality bill I think starts to convince other legislators that, wow, it’s OK for us to do it too,ā€ Andy Staton, a gay Rehoboth Beach Realtor who unsuccessfully ran for the state Senate last year, told the Blade. ā€œLegislators are very influenced by their constituency. And if the constituency is telling them not to do it, then theyā€™re not going to do it, which is why itā€™s important for people to be vocal.ā€

President Obama spoke out in support of the same-sex marriage referenda that passed last November in Maryland, Maine and Washington. The White House has also urged Illinois and Rhode Island lawmakers to support measures to allow nuptials for gays and lesbians in their respective states.

Goodman said she expects Obama and Vice President Biden to do the same in Delaware.

ā€œWe certainly would welcome his support and have no reason to think that he will not be supportive and publicly so, as will our vice president, Joe Biden, who of course all of Delaware is incredibly proud of,ā€ she said.

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Virginia

Va. House committee approves resolution to repeal marriage amendment

Two successive legislatures must approve proposal before it goes to voters

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(Bigstock photo)

A Virginia House of Delegates committee on Wednesday approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The Privileges and Elections Committee by a 16-5 vote margin approved state Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County)’s resolution that he introduced earlier this year. State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) sponsored an identical resolution in the Virginia Senate.

Ebbin and Sickles are gay.

Voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment in 2006.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this year signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

The General Assembly in 2021 approved a resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. It must pass in two successive legislatures before it can go to the ballot.

“Virginia is for lovers,” said the Virginia House Democratic Caucus on X after Wednesday’s vote. “Today, we advanced a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Virginiaā€™s ban on same-sex marriage. Itā€™s time our laws reflect our values of equality, inclusion, and dignity for all.”

The committee on Wednesday also approved resolutions that would enshrine reproductive rights and restore formerly incarcerated people’s right to vote in the state constitution.

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Maryland

At Salisbury University, an alleged hate crime shakes LGBTQ studentsā€™ sense of safety

Authorities have charged 12 men in connection with attack

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Supporters participate in a march organized by Salisbury University LGBTQ groups almost a month after an alleged hate crime took place. (Photo by Wesley Lapointe for the Baltimore Banner)

BY ELLIE WOLFE | Gigi Levin said she wasnā€™t particularly shocked when she heard a group of her classmates had been accused of luring a gay man to an apartment and attacking him.

ā€œThis is a problem rooted in our campus culture,ā€ said Levin, a 24-year-old Salisbury University student from Montgomery County. ā€œThe administration can help, but ultimately we are responsible for our safety as LGBTQ+ students.ā€

Levin was one of the first to arrive at a vigil on Monday afternoon, planned by an LGBTQ faculty group after University President Carolyn Ringer Lepre announced inĀ an email to the campus last week that several students been arrested.Ā The Salisbury Police Department chargedĀ 12 men, all students between 18 and 21,Ā with first-degree assault, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment and associated hate crimes.

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

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District of Columbia

Two D.C. LGBTQ rights advocates stepping down from jobs

Crenshaw leaving Alston Foundation; Czapary departs mayorā€™s office

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June Crenshaw announced sheā€™s leaving the Wanda Alston Foundation. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate June Crenshaw announced she is stepping down from her position for the past nine years as executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, the local organization that provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth.

Around the same time, fellow LGBTQ rights advocate Salah Czapary announced he is stepping down from his position for the past two years as director of the D.C. Mayorā€™s Office of Nightlife and Culture.

Meanwhile, a third longtime local LGBTQ rights advocate, David Meadows, was unanimously confirmed on Nov. 1 by the D.C. Council for an appointment by Mayor Muriel Bowser as a member of the cityā€™s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which is responsible for administering, enforcing, and adjudicating the cityā€™s alcoholic beverage and medical marijuana laws.

Neither Crenshaw nor Czapary disclosed in announcing their departure from their jobs what their future career plans are, and the two didnā€™t immediately respond to a question from the Washington Blade asking about career plans going forward.

Crenshaw currently serves as co-chair of the committee organizing D.C. World Pride 2025, the international LGBTQ Pride celebration expected to draw a million or more visitors to the city for a wide range of World Pride events in late May and early June 2025.

ā€œAfter over nine years of unwavering dedication and visionary leadership, our beloved Executive Director, June Crenshaw, has decided to step into her next chapter,ā€ a statement released by the Wanda Alston Foundation board of directors says. ā€œWhile we will miss Juneā€™s daily presence, we are grateful that she will stay on through the transition to ensure a warm, seamless handover as we actively search for our next executive director,ā€ the statement says.

It adds, ā€œHer unwavering commitment to our mission, clients, and team has helped build a foundation of compassion, resilience, and excellence. This transition reflects her readiness to explore new paths and her belief in the bright future of the Wanda Alston Foundation.ā€

In his own statement, Czapary said he appreciated the opportunity his job gave him to serve the city and its residents and visitors.

ā€œOctober marked my last month in the Mayorā€™s Office and Iā€™m grateful to Mayor Bowser for giving me the opportunity to serve as the Districtā€™s Nightlife and Cultural Director, supporting our hospitality sector ā€“ the sector that makes the city a great place to live and visit,ā€ he said.

ā€œIā€™m proud of positioning the office as a responsive entry point for industry and residents to interact with government,ā€ he said in his statement. ā€œThe role deepened my understanding and love for D.C. in ways I couldnā€™t have imagined two years ago.ā€

Czapary added, ā€œAs for me, Iā€™m excited about whatā€™s next.ā€ But he gave no indication of his future career plans.

In the past 20 years or longer D.C. mayors have appointed an LGBTQ member of what used to be called the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or ABC Board before its role was expanded to include marijuana regulations. It currently still uses the name ABC Board to denote Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board.

LGBTQ rights advocates have called for at least one LGBTQ member of the board to provide representation for the important role that gay bars and other LGBTQĀ  establishments licensed to sell or serve liquor have historically played in the community.

The boardā€™s previous gay member, Edward Grandis, left the board earlier this year. In a statement released at the time of his confirmation by the Council, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the ABC Board on liquor and cannabis related regulations, issued a statement introducing Meadows as its new board member.

ā€œMr. Meadows is a long-time Ward 8 LGBTQIA+ community advocate with 30 years of extensive experience serving in leadership roles in District government and civic organizations,ā€ the statement says. ā€œMost recently, Mr. Meadows ran day-to-day operations in the Office of At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds as her Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser,ā€ the statement continues.

It says Meadows previously has served as executive director of the D.C. Democratic Party and notes he began his career in the hospitality industry, including serving as events manager for the D.C.-based National Democratic Club. His appointment on the ABC Board is for a four-year term.

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