Local
Md. Senate committee kills transgender rights bill
Measure struck down in 6-5 vote
Maryland state Sen. Lisa Gladden (D-District 41) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The 6-5 vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee came slightly more than two weeks after it held a hearing on Senate Bill 449 — the Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2013 — that state Sens. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County) and Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County) introduced.
Raskin along with state Sens. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery County,) Lisa Gladden (D-Baltimore City,) Jennie Forehand (D-Montgomery County) and Robert Zirkin (D-Baltimore County) voted for SB 449. Senators Norman Stone (D-Baltimore County,) C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s County,) Nancy Jacobs (R-Cecil and Harford Counties,) James Brochin (D-Baltimore County,) Christopher Shank (R-Washington County) and Joseph Getty (R-Baltimore and Carroll Counties) opposed it.
“Despite months of hard work by our broad coalition of supporters, key committee members were unwilling to advance the promise of equality under the law to the transgender community,” Madaleno said in an e-mail he sent to his constituents after the vote. “A majority of committee members were unwilling to pass a bill that prohibited discrimination by restaurants, theaters, hotels, shopping centers and other places of public accommodations. Their lack of understanding and empathy for their fellow Marylanders is appalling.”
Dana Beyer, executive director of Gender Rights Maryland, also expressed outrage.
“Bigotry won the day, and I say that because the sponsor bent over backward to assuage the concerns of his Democratic colleagues,” she told the Washington Blade. “None of it was good enough, nor did they then offer any solution themselves other than to strip out public accommodations protections entirely.”
“It is terribly disappointing the committee failed to stand up for fairness and protect transgender Marylanders,” Equality Maryland Executive Director Carrie Evans added.
Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, and other SB 449 opponents testified against the measure during the Feb. 26 committee hearing.
“This bill will force the state and private actors — employers, landlords and others who provide public services — to officially and legally affirm the very delusion that puts these suffering individuals at odds with reality,” Sprigg said. “Not only will it not makes their lives better, but it will prevent them from getting the very help they do need to make their lives better.”
The state House of Delegates in 2011 passed a trans rights bill, but a similar measure died in a Senate committee last year.
Governor Martin O’Malley, who signed Baltimore City’s trans rights ordinance into law in 2002 when he was mayor, told the Washington Blade last month he was “absolutely” reaching out to state lawmakers to encourage them to support SB 449. State Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County) and other gay state lawmakers with whom the Blade spoke after the committee’s Feb. 26 hearing stressed the passage of last November’s referendum on the same-sex marriage law O’Malley signed had provided a foundation of support upon which they thought the measure could have passed.
Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller (D-Prince George’s and Calvert Counties) also backed SB 449.
“It is now 14 years since transgender protections were stripped from LGBT anti-discrimination legislation by the General Assembly,” Donna Cartwright of the Maryland Coalition for Trans Equality said. “It’s long past time for the legislature to take meaningful action to address the severe discrimination and disadvantage that trans people face.”
Baltimore County, of which Brochin represents portions in Annapolis, along with Montgomery and Howard Counties and Baltimore City have already adopted trans-inclusive non-discrimination laws.
“[Brochin] had at least 1,000 constituents contact him asking him to support this bill,” Evans said. “Despite this, he turned his back on these voters. It ironic that transgender people in his own district [Baltimore County] have protections yet he wouldn’t cast a vote to extend these protections to individuals in the 20 counties that aren’t so fortunate.”
Sixteen states and D.C. currently ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression.
Madaleno and other SB 449 supporters vow they will continue to fight to protect trans Marylanders from discrimination.
“This fight is not over, and together we continue undeterred on our path to full equality and freedom for all,” Madaleno said.
“Equality Maryland will come back every year until transgender Marylanders are afforded the right to be free from discrimination in their jobs, homes, and places of public accommodations,“ added Evans.
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Comings & Goings
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Some people are especially inspiring to write about, and one such person is Joseph Poduslo. He is justly proud of his “Luminary of the Year” nomination, which is granted to survivors, caregivers, and researchers, by the Brain Industry Association of America (BIAA). I urge you to take a look at its website, and maybe help Poduslo raise some funds for this incredible organization.
“I have always wanted to share my journey to help and inspire others,” he said. “The brain is the most amazing creation and retraining the brain takes time and effort. But I’m doing it.” You can read his story in his own words. You will find it as inspiring as I did.
After spending time with his family in Texas, he is now back in D.C. He is Senior Vice President, and founding agent, the Poduslo Group. His bio notes, “His work for his real estate clients has garnered him industry-wide recognition. Joseph has been featured in the Washington Post, NBC, CNN, and in 2018, Washington Life Magazine’s ‘Most Influential Business Person Under Forty.’ … When Joseph is not redefining the real estate industry, he has invested in numerous small businesses and restaurants in downtown D.C. over the last 17 years. He founded the D.C. Progressive Dinner, an organization that helps SMYAL, a local non-profit. Joseph formerly served on the Capital Alliance Board in the DC area.”
Delaware
GOP candidate in Del. House race expresses LGBTQ support
Simpler says trans residents deserve protection from discrimination
Early voting is underway in Delaware and one race that has captivated the LGBTQ community is the 14th District House seat being vacated by longtime ally Pete Schwartzkopf. Claire Snyder-Hall, a lesbian, won the Democratic primary and faces Republican Mike Simpler. But Simpler says the LGBTQ community shouldn’t discount him simply because he’s a Republican.
“I was kind of upset that they would even think of me being a Republican, that I would discriminate against the LGBTQ community in general,” Simpler told the Blade. “It’s kind of upsetting knowing that I’m born and raised here, and I’ve had family members that way. I mean the treasurer of my campaign is a lesbian. It’s just upsetting that people feel that way about the gay community in general.”
Simpler, a lifelong resident of Sussex County and the current president of the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company said that his experience in the role has allowed him to work alongside many different types of people, including members of the LGBTQ community.
“We probably have the most diverse fire company in the state of Delaware, when it comes to the LGBTQ group,” he said. “People need to realize that the LGBTQ [community] is no different than the rest of the people in the world.”
Simpler also shared with the Blade that he has had firsthand experience with a unique aspect of LGBTQ culture — drag. He dressed up in drag at a fundraiser held at The Pines, a popular gay venue in Rehoboth Beach.
“I was asked to volunteer for a fundraiser, and next thing you know, I find out I’m going to be in drag at The Pines,” Simpler said. “We had a ball! I mean, I had so much fun.”
Not only did Simpler definitively say he supports the LGBTQ community in Delaware, but he added he supports legislative protections for these communities. He pointed out that providing a safe space for marginalized communities is ingrained in American history.
“Protect them,” he said when asked about the potential of supporting pro-transgender legislation amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ state legislation being passed nationwide. “You’ve got to. They’re trying to escape. For example, they’re trying to escape the process like the Jews did, like the Chinese when they came here. They’re trying to move away from an issue where they’re being prosecuted against to somewhere where they can be free and enjoy their life that they want to live.”
In addition to promising LGBTQ support, Simpler says he backs smarter growth in the region by prioritizing better development and efforts to alleviate traffic. He also pledges to attract high-quality jobs to the region.
Simpler faces Synder-Hall in the Nov. 5 general election. Read the Blade’s profile of her, here: https://www.washingtonblade.com/2024/09/24/claire-snyder-hall-interview/
Early voting is already underway.
Virginia
New Virginia license plate celebrates LGBTQ diversity
450 applications needed for it to become official option
Diversity Richmond has designed a license plate that allows Virginia drivers to celebrate and raise the visibility of LGBTQ diversity. The Virginia-based LGBTQ nonprofit needs 450 applications by January for the plate to become an official state option.
The license plate design features a group of hands stacked on top of each other in the far left corner, and the Progress Pride flag runs horizontally across the bottom of the plate. The words “Celebrate Diversity” are prominently displayed over the flag.
Rev. Dr. Lacette Cross, executive director of Diversity Richmond, said the design celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ community.
“[The design] reflects the diversity of the intersecting identities of our community,” she said.
Applications are available on Diversity Richmond’s website, and the license plate costs $25. Once completed, applicants should email the form to Diversity Richmond, not to the Virginia DMV, as Diversity Richmond will submit both the applications and fees to the DMV on their behalf.
If the organization gathers 450 applications and payments by the start of the 2025 Virginia General Assembly session in January, Del. Betsy B. Carr (D-Richmond) will sponsor the plate through the approval process to make it an official option.
The initiative also serves as a fundraiser for Diversity Richmond, which will receive a portion of the proceeds from the license plate registration fees.
“The ultimate benefit,” Cross said, “is the continual visibility of LGBTQ persons, our allies, and our supporters that are driving around the Commonwealth of Virginia, spreading the message of acceptance and of allyship.”
She described Diversity Richmond as the hub of the LGBTQ community in Greater Richmond, noting the organization’s “really dynamic” work within the community. The nonprofit runs the popular thrift store Diversity Thrift, hosts the annual Virginia Pridefest in September, and exhibits the work of LGBTQ artists in its art gallery.
Diversity Richmond is planning to celebrate its 25th anniversary with a public party at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
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