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Virginia gubernatorial candidates clash over marriage, anti-gay statements
Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli debated each other in McLean in Fairfax County
Virginia gubernatorial candidates Democrat Terry McAuliff, former DNC Chair and Republican Ken Cuccinelli, II, Attorney General for Virginia participate in a debate moderated by MSNBC’s Chuck Todd in McLean, Va., on Wednesday, September 25, 2013. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/POOL)
McLEAN, Va.—Former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe and Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli on Wednesday clashed over same-sex marriage and other gay-specific issues during the commonwealth’s latest gubernatorial debate that took place at the Capital One Conference Center in McLean.
“I do have some tremendous challenges because of the issues of economic development, job creation that I need to focus on, but I have come out for marriage equality,” McAuliffe said, noting the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ prompted him and his wife to back the issue. “The idea we could send men and women across the globe to fight for us and then they come back and they don’t have the same equal opportunities and equal rights I just think was plain wrong.”
McAuliffe added he would sign a same-sex marriage bill if one were to reach his desk, even though it remains highly unlikely the Republican-controlled General Assembly would approve such a measure. Cuccinelli pointed out a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn the commonwealth’s same-sex marriage ban that voters approved in 2006 would never go before the governor.
“I understand and respect the fact that this is a sensitive issue to a lot of Virginians,” Cuccinelli said. “But I’m one of those who do believe that the institution of marriage should remain between one man and one woman.”
The candidates’ comments come nearly two months after the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two lesbian couples who are challenging the commonwealth’s gay nuptials ban and the state’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states. A gay couple from Norfolk in July filed a separate federal lawsuit against Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
“This is a very important issue,” McAuliffe said.
Cuccinelli denies anti-gay comments
McAuliffe further accused Cuccinelli of promoting an “ideological agenda” on LGBT-specific and women’s issues.
The former DNC chair said defense contractor Northrup Grumman Corp. in 2010 threatened to abandon plans to relocate 300 employees to its northern Virginia headquarters after Cuccinelli directed colleges and universities in the commonwealth to remove sexual orientation and gender identity and expression from their non-discrimination policies. McAuliffe also accused his opponent of describing gay Virginians as “self-destructive and soulless human beings.”
“There are consequences to this mean-spirited attack on women’s health, on gay Virginians,” he said. “If we’re going to build a new economy in Virginia, we’re going to do it by bringing everyone together.”
Cuccinelli dismissed the Northrup Grumman claim, and described McAuliffe’s allegation he described gays and lesbians as “soulless” as “offensively false.”
LGBT advocates remain critical of Cuccinelli, GOP ticket
The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and NBC 4 took place two days after the release of a Washington Post-Abt SRBI poll shows McAuliffe ahead of Cuccinelli by a 47-39 point margin. 10 percent of respondents said they back Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Robert Sarvis.
Democrats and LGBT rights advocates have repeatedly criticized Cuccinelli over his position against nuptials for gays and lesbians and other LGBT-specific issues.
Chief Justice John Roberts last month denied Cuccinelli’s request to place a stay on a three-judge panel’s March ruling against Virginia’s anti-sodomy statute while the U.S. Supreme Court considers his appeal of it. Cuccinelli in July said during a debate against McAuliffe that Judy Woodruff of PBS NewsHour moderated that his “personal beliefs about the personal challenge of homosexuality haven’t changed.”
Advocates have also criticized Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate E.W. Jackson over his anti-gay statements that include comparing gay men to pedophiles and describing them as “very sick people.” The Chesapeake minister who will square off against state Sen. Ralph Northam (D-Norfolk) in November reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage on September 22 as he spoke at a Shenandoah County church.
“The family was ordained by God,” Jackson said as the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. “He ordained it one man and one woman in the bonds of holy matrimony. (In the Bible) I don’t hear anything about two people of the same sex being married.”
Northam challenged Jackson over his controversial statements against gays and lesbians, marriage and other issues during a debate at George Mason University’s Arlington campus on Tuesday.
“Our job as lieutenant governor is going to be to unite people and to move Virginia in a positive direction,” Northam said as the Washington Post reported. “Making statements against LGBT individuals, making statements against Democrats, they’re anti-God, that they’re anti-life. Those kind of statements, they’re all offensive.”
State Sen. Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) will square off against state Sen. Mark Obenshein (R-Harrisonburg) in November to succeed Cuccinelli as attorney general.
Cuccinelli: Marriage is ‘a very sensitive issue’
McAuliffe again sought to portray Cuccinelli as an extremist as he spoke to reporters after the debate. He also said his first executive order as governor would ban discrimination against gay state employees.
“As governor, we’ll work in a mainstream, partisan way,” McAuliffe said.
Cuccinelli told the Washington Blade as he spoke to reporters after the debate that the economy remains the top priority among the majority of Virginia voters. He remained ambiguous as to whether he feels his opposition to same-sex marriage and other LGBT-specific issues has received too much attention during the campaign.
“That’s a very sensitive issue, and I respect that,” Cuccinelli told the Blade as he discussed nuptials for gays and lesbians. “There are people who feel very strongly about it, and I respect that. And for those folks they want to hear about it, it is one of a range of issues.”
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.
The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.
The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.
District of Columbia
LGBTQ leaders celebrate Frank Kameny’s 100th birthday at Supreme Court
Advocates march, deliver speeches to remember activist’s many contributions
More than 100 people joined the leaders of a dozen prominent national LGBTQ rights organizations on May 21 to celebrate the 100th birthday of iconic gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building in the nation’s capital.
Kameny, who passed away on Oct. 11, 2011, on National Coming Out Day, has been hailed as one of the founding leaders of the modern LGBTQ rights movement.
Among other things, he became the first openly gay man to file an appeal about gay rights to the U.S. Supreme Court, which was among the reasons organizers of his birthday celebration chose to hold it at the Supreme Court.
“Today is the 100th birthday of Frank Kameny, the founder of the LGBTQ civil rights movement,” said Malcolm Lazin, who served as national chair of the committee that organized the Kameny 100th birthday event. Frank is one of the nation’s most consequential civil rights leaders,” Lazin told the gathering in opening remarks.
“We are in front of the Supreme Court because Frank believed in the Constitution’s promise of equality for all Americans,” he said. “He based his liberation strategy against systemic homophobia on that promise.”
Participants in the event, many of whom were young LGBTQ activists from New York City, carried 100 candles to commemorate Kameny’s birthday.
They were joined by the national LGBTQ organization leaders who formed a ceremonial picket line carrying replicas of the “homosexual rights” signs used in the 1965 historic first gay protest outside the White House organized by Kameny and his supporters from the Mattachine Society of Washington, a gay rights group that Kameny helped to form.
Among speakers at the event was Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the same-sex marriage lawsuit that resulted in the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Obergefell noted that the Kameny birthday celebration marks the 10th anniversary of the high court’s marriage decision and recalls for him Kameny’s role as a strong supporter of legalizing same-sex marriage.
Obergefell and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), the Senate’s first openly lesbian member, served as national honorary co-chairs of the Kameny 100th birthday celebration.
Ross Murray, a vice president of GLAAD, told how Kameny used an effective strategy to fight homophobia both for the public and to many in the LGBTQ community who experienced internalized homophobia due to societal pressure.
“So, using the model of ‘Black is Beautiful,’ Frank turned perceptions upside down when he coined ‘Gay is Good,’” Murray said. “And he carried that on a picket sign in 1970 at the first New York Pride Parade.”
Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff told the gathering that the early 1960s era newsletter of the Mattachine Society of Washington, that Kameny helped to start, evolved into the early version of the Washington Blade in 1969.
“Frank recognized the importance of community building and engagement by having a reliable community news source,” Naff said. “We are honored to join in the 100th birthday tribute to one of our founders, Frank Kameny.”
Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, said the mayor’s office is proud that the city hosted Kameny’s 100th birthday celebration. Bowles announced that Bowser issued an official mayoral proclamation declaring May 21, 2025, Frank Kameny Centennial Day.
In her proclamation Bowser recites many of Kameny’s accomplishments in advancing LGBTQ rights in D.C. and across the nation and concludes by stating she commends “this observance to all Washingtonians with a reminder to always remember, as Frank Kameny often said, ‘Gay is Good.’”
Others who spoke included Keith Joseph of the LGBTQ group Equality Forum, Ben Garcia of the American LGBTQ+ Museum, Saul Levin of the American Psychiatric Association, Kevin Jennings of LGBTQ attorneys’ group Lambda Legal, Elliot Imse of the LGBTQ Victory Institute, Jay Brown of the Human Rights Campaign, Philadelphia City Council member Rue Landau, D.C. Capital Pride Alliance and WorldPride organizer June Crenshaw, Anya Marino of Advocates for Transgender Rights, Sultan Shakir of PFLAG, and Aaron Tax of SAGE.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who is gay, was scheduled to speak at the event but had to cancel due to a House committee vote scheduled around the same time, Lazin told the Blade. Rep. Mark Takano, who’s gay, spoke at a lunch after the event to the LGBTQ leaders and praised Kameny’s many contributions to the LGBTQ movement.
District of Columbia
Blade’s Lou Chibbaro subject of new film premiering May 29
‘Lou’s Legacy’ looks back at 50-year career
Longtime Washington Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. is the subject of a new documentary film premiering on May 29 in D.C.
The world premiere of the film by Emmy-nominated director Patrick Sammon will take place at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library auditorium in D.C. on May 29 at 6:30 p.m.
“Lou’s Legacy: A Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade”(29 minutes) tells the story of D.C.’s tumultuous and inspiring LGBTQ history through the lens of veteran reporter Lou Chibbaro’s reporting during nearly five decades at the Blade. The film features renowned D.C. drag performer Donnell Robinson who has been entertaining Washington’s LGBTQ community since 1975 as “Ella Fitzgerald.” Chibbaro and Robinson reflect on their careers and discuss the rising backlash against the LGBTQ community, including laws targeting drag performers.
As a reporter, Chibbaro made a point of focusing on the people and issues that were regularly ignored or distorted by mainstream outlets: the HIV/AIDS epidemic, hate crimes, and the fight for LGBTQ civil rights.
“Lou and Donnell are cornerstones of D.C.’s LGBTQ community,” said Sammon, the film’s director and producer. “I have great respect for both of them and hope this film celebrates in some small way their contribution to our city. It’s especially appropriate to premiere this documentary during WorldPride as people from all over the world gather in D.C. to celebrate our community and find inspiration to continue fighting for LGBTQ equality.”
Sammon and his production team were given unprecedented access to more than 300 archival boxes of meticulously kept reporter’s files, documents, and audio tapes that Chibbaro saved and donated to George Washington University’s Gelman Special Collections Library. In addition, the Washington Blade granted Sammon access to its photo archive of compelling and emotional images, most of which have not been seen for decades.
Charles Francis, president of Mattachine Society said, “The Mattachine Society is so proud to have played a role in making this film happen, especially in this time of total erasure and efforts across the country to rewrite our history. With our work and support, Lou was able to preserve, donate, and help curate his thousands of pages of papers at George Washington University. That history cannot be erased. This film tells the story.”
Pate Felts, co-founder of the Mattachine Society, said, ”Lou’s archive, including more than 300 cartons of reporter’s files, holds thousands of stories of the men and women who suffered and fought for LGBTQ dignity and equality, at great professional and personal cost. Patrick’s film focuses on some of the most powerful ones to help educate all of us, especially younger generations, about the dues paid, the courage displayed and the hope that we all carry forward today.”
A panel discussion will follow the premiere screening of “Lou’s Legacy.” Aside from Chibbaro, Robinson, and Sammon, the conversation will feature Bladepublisher and co-owner Lynne Brown. D.C. journalist Rebekah Robinson will moderate the conversation.
“Lou’s Legacy: A Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade” will broadcast in late June on MPT and WETA, the region’s leading PBS stations. The WETA broadcasts are set for Saturday, June 21 at 8 p.m. and Monday, June 23 at 9:30 p.m. The film will also stream on PBS.org starting June 21.
“Lou has had a front-row seat to 50 years of historic events; from covering the trial of Matthew Shepard’s murderers to observing the inauguration of President Obama from the Capitol Steps, Lou has seen it all,” said Blade editor Kevin Naff who has worked with Chibbaro for more than 20 years. “The film captures Lou’s dedication and tenacity and reminds us how far we’ve come as a community.”
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