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Equality Virginia PAC endorses Democratic statewide candidates
Group said Virginians have “very clear choice this November”
Terry McAuliffe (center) at an Equality Virginia fundraiser in Arlington, Va. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Equality Virginia’s political action committee on Friday announced it has endorsed the three Democrats running for statewide office in the commonwealth this November.
Equality Virginia Political Action Committee Executive Director James Parrish noted former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe, who is running for governor against current Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Ralph Northam and state Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun,) who is campaigning against state Sen. Mark Obenshein (R-Harrisonburg) for attorney general, have “shown public support for LGBT issues.”
McAuliffe in February publicly backed same-sex marriage. Northam, who will square off against E.W. Jackson in the lieutenant gubernatorial race, and Herring also support nuptials for gays and lesbians.
All three Democratic statewide candidates also back a proposed ban on discrimination against LGBT state employees that a Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee killed earlier this year.
“Virginians have a very clear choice this November to show their support for our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community,” Parrish said.
Equality Virginia and other LGBT rights advocates have repeatedly criticized the GOP ticket for their opposition to same-sex marriage and other gay-specific issues.
Cuccinelli in March filed an ultimately unsuccessful challenge to a three-judge panel’s ruling that overturned the commonwealth’s sodomy law. He also spoke at an anti-gay marriage event at a Manassas church last fall to which the Washington Blade was denied access.
Jackson, who founded Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, has previously compared gay men to pedophiles and described them as “very sick people.”
Obenshein sponsored a measure that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed in March that bans public universities from denying recognition and funding to student groups that discriminate in their membership based on sexual orientation and other categories that federal law does not protect. He also opposed the bill that would have banned discrimination against LGBT state employees.
“In this election, the GOP’s ticket has made their position obvious on LGBT issues and the media has brought it to the forefront of the campaign,” Parrish said. “Our Democratic candidates for statewide office each have platforms that include working towards our fundamental human rights – not against them.”
Obenshein sought to distance himself from Jackson’s anti-gay statements – and specifically the suggestion that gay men are perverts – during an interview on News Talk with Bruce DePuyt on Channel 8 earlier on Friday.
“That statement is one I clearly don’t agree with,” Obenshein said.
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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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