Local
Advocates rally against Va. same-sex marriage ban
Clergy gathered outside Arlington County Courthouse to call for nuptials for gays and lesbians in the commonwealth


Jan Canterbury and Nadia Malley of Arlington apply for a marriage license outside Arlington County Courthouse on Feb. 14. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
Clergy from across Northern Virginia gathered outside the Arlington County Courthouse on Thursday to protest the commonwealth’s same-sex marriage ban.
“We are here this morning to say it is long past time to change the law,” Rev. David Ensign of the Clarendon Presbyterian Church said.
Rev. Amber Nueroth of Hope United Church of Christ in Alexandria led a litany in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples. Rev. Carlton Elliot Smith of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington noted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1967 Loving v. Virginia decision that found state bans on interracial marriages unconstitutional as he spoke to the dozens of people who gathered outside the courthouse.
“Do we want Virginia to be on the back of the bus again when it comes to marriage equality,” he asked. “So let’s see if we can Virginia to the front of the bus this time.”
Rabbi Lia Bass of Congregation Etz Hayim in Arlington read a prayer. She further noted that Rabbi Leila Gal Berner of Congregation Kol Ami in Annandale also supports marriage rights for same-sex couples.
“Let us pray that soon the state of Virginia will understand love is love and that the right to marry should be afforded to every child of God,” she said
The Arlington rally is one of five gatherings against Virginia’s constitutional same-sex marriage ban that voters approved in 2006 that took place across the commonwealth. The others occurred in Charlottesville, Hampton, Richmond and Winchester.
A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee last month killed a bill sponsored by state Del. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) that would have repealed the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
Jan Canterbury and Nadia Malley of Arlington were among the three same-sex couples who unsuccessfully applied for marriage licenses outside the courthouse.
“We’re hoping that the culture will change, even here in Virginia,” Canterbury, who has been with Malley for 14 years, told the Washington Blade after Arlington County Clerk Paul Ferguson rejected their application. “We want to take a stand on behalf of our love and for our equal rights.”
Tom Nichols and Dan Chaddurn of Falls Church also sought a Virginia marriage license. The couple tied the knot later in the day in D.C. on what would have been Chaddurn’s parents’ 60th wedding anniversary.
“We would love to get married in Virginia,” Nichols said. “It feels so ridiculously insane that we can go five miles across the river in either direction to Maryland or D.C. right now and have the right to get married and still not in Virginia.”
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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

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.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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