Local
D.C. court expands staff after increase in gay weddings
Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling triggered boom in applications
David Kero-Mentz and his new husband Ken Kero-Mentz waited two hours for their marriage license to be processed in July. (Photo courtesy of the couple)
The D.C. Superior Court announced on Friday that it has increased the staff and added two additional rooms for its Marriage Bureau to meet a sudden increase in demand for marriage licenses and courthouse weddings from same-sex couples.
Among other things, a court official said one of the additional rooms would be used to interview applicants seeking a marriage license and the other would be used to perform wedding ceremonies.
Court observers, including gay and lesbian couples applying for marriage licenses, told the Blade last week that applicants often had to wait between two and three hours in a single packed waiting room to have their applications processed. Others said couples requesting to get married at the courthouse had to wait at least two months for their ceremony to be scheduled.
“When we realized that our current staffing and space did not accommodate the recent demand for our services, we added staff and converted space to meet the need,” said Duane Delaney, the Clerk of the Superior Court.
In a statement released on Friday, Delaney said in the last two months the court saw the number of people applying for a marriage license more than double.
Court spokesperson Leah Gurowitz told the Blade that the budget sequestration imposed by Congress resulted in a hiring freeze on the federally funded D.C. courts since April 1. She said the additional staff members assigned to the Marriage Bureau have been transferred to the bureau on a temporary basis from other branches of the court.
“It is unclear if the increased workload is temporary or will be sustained,” Gurowitz said. “We will adjust staffing levels as necessary.”
The statement released by the court said the second ceremony room was scheduled to open Monday, Sept. 16, “potentially doubling the number of courthouse marriage ceremonies each day.”
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in the case of U.S. v. Windsor struck down the provision of the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act that prohibited legally married same-sex couples from obtaining federal rights and benefits of marriage. Now that married same-sex couples are eligible for most of those benefits, large numbers of same-sex couples that had not married in the past are choosing to tie the knot, according to experts monitoring the situation.
Since D.C. does not have a residency requirement, many same-sex couples from other states, especially Virginia, are descending on D.C. to get married, according to local gay rights attorney Michele Zavos.
Gurowitz said prior to the Supreme Court decision, the court received an average of between 300 and 400 applications for marriage licenses each month. But since the decision was handed down on June 26, the number of couples applying for licenses jumped to 977 in July and totaled 908 in August.
Those applying for the licenses said the overwhelming majority of the additional people coming to the Superior Court’s Marriage Bureau since the increase began appear to be same-sex couples.
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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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