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Gay senior commits suicide after eviction

Lifelong D.C. resident’s death prompts activists to assess city services

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Maurice “Twan” Coplin, obituary, Washington Blade, gay news
Maurice “Twan” Coplin, obituary, gay news, Washington Blade

Maurice “Twan” Coplin

D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), transgender activists Earline Budd and Toni Collins, and gay activist and acting program director Greg Mims of the local social services group RAP, Inc. each took steps to help him at a time of need.

But to their shock and dismay, Maurice “Twan” Coplin, a 62-year-old gay man, took his own life on April 7, 10 days after being evicted from the Columbia Heights apartment that had been his home for more than 10 years.

Graham, who knew Coplin as a Ward 1 constituent, said he and his office worked with Coplin in the spring and early summer of 2012 to resolve an issue that could have led to his eviction.

“We thought the matter had been resolved,” Graham told the Blade.

Budd and Collins, who were friends of Coplin’s, said in an email exchange after learning of Coplin’s death that they tried their best to help him. But they said Coplin didn’t reach out to them until after his March 28 eviction landed him and his belongings on the street outside the Columbia Uptown Apartments at 1375 Fairmont St., N.W.

“I have tried to search my heart and soul in trying to figure out is there anything else that could have been done to prevent this tragedy,” Budd, an official with the local group Transgender Health Empowerment, said in an email.

Collins stated in an email to Budd and other activists on April 9 that she took Coplin into her home after he called her and asked her to pick him up on the street following the eviction. She said he stayed with her until April 2, when he told her he was going to the city’s housing department to seek help in obtaining temporary housing.

“I lost contact with him after that until the call from the detective last night informing me of his suicide,” Collins wrote.

She was referring to a call from a Montgomery County police detective who informed her that Coplin’s body was found in a hotel room in Rockville and that the death was believed to be a suicide.

A spokesperson for the Maryland State Medical Examiner said the cause of death was determined to be an alcohol and drug overdose and the manner of death was ruled a suicide. The drug was identified as oxycodone, the spokesperson said.

“We need to do something about how seniors are treated in the eviction process and resources made available at the time of eviction so that they have a place to stay and also encompass any medical or mental health issues they may have,” Collins wrote.

In a series of interviews in the weeks following Coplin’s death, people who knew him and those who took steps to help him – including Graham – told the Blade that numerous programs at D.C. government agencies and from private community organizations existed that could have provided all of the help Coplin needed.

The fact that he didn’t call on people he knew to set in motion the help and resources he needed until after the eviction raises questions about his emotional state, friends said. They also have asked how friends and family members might recognize signs of distress, even if a loved one doesn’t choose to talk about it.

“We have all these questions lingering,” said Jackie Reyes, a constituent services staffer in Graham’s D.C. Council office who worked with Graham on Coplin’s case. “Something happened that he didn’t want to talk about this,” Reyes said.

Mims said he has known Coplin since the two went to high school in D.C. Both became involved in D.C.’s gay social circles in the late 1960s, when there were few bars and gay life centered on social groups, especially in the city’s black gay community.

Mims said he only learned recently that Coplin served in the U.S. Navy before beginning a career as a hairstylist. According to Mims, Coplin’s career was cut short after he was diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s and illness prevented him from working and resulted in his going on disability.

Coplin continued to become involved in gay community activities over the years, Mims said, including participating in LGBT Pride-related events.

For at least the past 10 years, Mims said, Coplin received financial assistance for his rent through a federally funded program that provides rent subsidies through vouchers issued by the city.

Friends and others who knew him said problems with his apartment appear to have surfaced shortly after owners of the high-rise apartment building completed an extensive renovation project that some viewed as a “gentrification” effort to attract new tenants that could afford far higher rents.

In early 2012 Coplin fell behind in his rent and records from the D.C. Superior Court’s Landlord-Tenant Branch show that eviction proceedings were filed against Coplin. That’s when Graham’s office stepped in and helped Coplin navigate through the problem and catch up on his rent through city programs available to him, Graham said.

But just a few months later, according to court records, the landlord filed a new eviction proceeding against him that was unrelated to his rent payments. Instead, the eviction filing accused him of violating his lease by allegedly assaulting a woman on the premises who worked as a childcare provider for another tenant.

Court records show that the case went to trial in January of this year and a judge ruled in favor of the eviction after Coplin and witnesses for the landlord testified under oath. The records show that Coplin did not have a lawyer and represented himself.

Some who knew Coplin say they are suspicious of the motives of the landlord since the eviction proceedings took place at a time when Coplin was among the few if not the only longtime tenant remaining in the building from the days before the renovation project.

John Raftery, one of several attorneys representing Van Metre Columbia Uptown Apartments, LLC, the landlord, said Coplin admitted in court in his testimony that he committed the assault. Raftery told the Blade the building had no choice but to take steps to evict a tenant who commits an act of violence in the building.

“I think the issue in that particular building was several people had vouchers,” said Mims. “And they sort of moved them out of the building. I don’t know if gentrification was part of it or not.”

Regardless of the actual cause of the eviction, Mims and others who knew Coplin said the state of Coplin’s mental health appeared to play a role in some of Coplin’s actions near the end of his life.

“My concern was that we didn’t learn about everything until later,” Mims said. “Had he told us I would never have let him sit on the street…The thing that bothers me is I think he felt so hopeless.”

Courtney Williams, a gay official with the D.C. Office of Aging, said he didn’t know Coplin personally but learned about his case from activists. He said his office specializes in coordinating services for seniors facing problems similar to Coplin.

All people need to do is call us,” he said.

“We heard nothing about it until it actually happened,” Graham said in commenting on Coplin’s March 28 eviction. “That’s when he contacted me. And once an eviction happens it’s very hard to respond. But we did respond,” Graham said.

Graham said his office arranged for the building to put most if not all of Coplin’s possessions in storage.

“And then he vanished,” said Graham. “We couldn’t reach him anymore. And I contacted MPD and asked them if there had been a missing person’s report.

Days later Graham learned of Coplin’s suicide from Collins.

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Virginia

Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note

Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at CPAC in 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.

Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.

The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.

“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”

Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.

She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.

John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.

Reid has strongly denied the reports.

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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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Venus Valhalla performs at Pitchers. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

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.

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