Local
Charm City LGBT Film Festival nears
2nd annual event showcases feature films celebrating queer lives as the Creative Alliance
The Celluloid Closet (Image public domain)
The second annual Charm City LGBT Film Festival is bringing to Baltimore feature films celebrating queer lives, offering insight into civil rights issues and reveling in gay Pride at the Creative Alliance. These films, according to the Alliance, are “at turns hilarious, riveting, heart breaking and sexy, will delight and enlighten, no matter where you fall on the Kinsey scale!”
On June 6, the festival begins with a Film Fest kick-off party at 8 p.m. featuring local entertainers including Sabrina Chap and the Charm City Kitty Club Players and the film “The Celluloid Closet” will be presented.
On June 7 at 7 p.m. “Cloudburst” will be shown starring Oscar winners Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker. At 9 p.m., “I Am Divine” will be presented, a film about Baltimore’s own Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988), who worked with his good friend and director John Waters.
On Saturday, June 8 at 5 p.m. there will be a free screening of “Difficult Love” that offers vignettes of the difficult lives and loves of lesbians in contemporary South Africa. At 7p.m. “Stud Life” will be shown, in which hot butches and beautiful femmes introduce us to London’s “stud” club subculture. Rounding out the program at 9 p.m. will be the presentation of the film “Love or Whatever.” It’s a story about a therapist whose perfect life unravels when his boyfriend leaves him for a woman.
Two more films are screening on June 9. At 5 p.m., Chris Arnold’s film, “Trans” recounts the incredible transformation of 7-year-old Danon, a confident, loveable transgender girl. Parents, grandparents and siblings speak about the journey with her. The festival wraps up at 7:30 p.m. with the film “Elliot Loves,” which chronicles the life of Elliot, a smart Dominican kid as he transitions from boy to man.
Tickets are $12, Creative Alliance Members $7. A weekend pass costs $60 and $35 for members. The Creative Alliance is located at 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore. For more information, email [email protected], or call 410-276-1651.
Virginia
VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade
Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday
The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.
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Virginia
Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3
The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.
Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.
“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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