Local
BREAKING: Del. same-sex marriage bill advances
House Administration Committee approved measure by 4-1 vote margin
Delaware state Rep. Melanie George Smith (D-Bear) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
The House Administration Committee approved House Bill 75 after 38 people testified for and against the proposal during a hearing that lasted more than 90 minutes.
House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst (D-Bear) voted to allow HB 75 out of committee along with state Reps. Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach) and Deborah Hudson (R-Faircloth.) Seaford Republican Dan Short voted against it.
“House Bill 75 extends the freedom to marry to all Delawareans who are in a loving, committed relationship,” state Rep. Melanie George Smith (D-Bear,) who introduced HB 75 last Thursday, said at the beginning of the hearing. “This legislation will respect and recognize with equal dignity all couples who are in a loving, committed relationship.”
She, along with Equality Delaware President Lisa Goodman and Equality Delaware Foundation President Mark Purpura stressed the measure will also protect religious freedom.
“This bill makes it explicitly clear no minister will ever be required to marry a same-sex couple,” Goodman said.
Rehoboth Beach resident Fay Jacobs, who has been with her partner for 35 years, urged the committee to “end our long run as second class citizens.” Richard Smith, president of the Delaware State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP,) described nuptials for gays and lesbians as a “civil right.”
“It’s an affirmative right for people to be together,” he said.
The committee’s vote took place nearly two years after Gov. Jack Markell signed a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions.
The law took effect in Jan. 2012, but same-sex marriage opponents have repeatedly accused Equality Delaware and other groups that support HB 75 of lying about their intentions to seek nuptials for gays and lesbians in the state once they were able to enter into civil unions.
“We sat in this chamber just less than two years ago debating the civil unions issue,” Nicole Thise of the Delaware Family Policy Council said during her testimony. “The civil unions legislation is the most comprehensive legislation in the country. It literally mirrors the marriage law of Delaware, extending all state benefits to couples of the same-sex.”
Rick Hensley, a pastor at Grace and Truth Community Church in Felton, testified against the civil unions bill in 2011. He reiterated his opposition to extending marriage to gays and lesbian couples as he spoke against HB 75.
“The bill at hand is another example of the assault on the foundation of our society, which is the family,” Hensley said.
Rev. Jeffrey Ross of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lewes noted his congregation began blessing same-sex unions before the state’s civil unions law took effect. He told committee members that we “cannot allow prejudice to prosper in our First State.”
“As a priest in the Christian church I need to support members who want to live faithfully within the covenant of marriage, even if they happen to be gay or lesbian,” Ross said. “I need you to give them that legal standing.”
Neighboring Maryland is among the nine states and D.C. in which same-sex couples can legally marry.
A Global Strategy Group poll that Equality Delaware commissioned in February shows 54 percent of Delawareans back nuptials for gays and lesbians. A survey that ABC News and the Washington Post released last month indicates 58 percent of Americans now support same-sex marriage.
Smith welcomed the committee’s vote during a brief interview with the Blade inside the House chamber.
“We’re very excited that the bill was voted out of committee,” she said. “We look forward to in the very near future having an opportunity to have a full debate on this on the House floor and passing it out of the House of Representatives.”
The full House could potentially vote on HB 75 as early as Tuesday.
Smith said she remains confident the measure will have enough votes to pass in the chamber.
“I’m confident that we have a majority of Delaware representatives — so over 21 of the 41 — [who] will do the right thing and vote to support equality in Delaware,” she said.
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.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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