Local
Sarvis seeks to provide Virginia voters with ‘a better choice’
Libertarian gubernatorial candidate continues to take votes away from Ken Cuccinelli
Robert Sarvis and his family (Photo courtesy of Robert Sarvis)
“[I’m] somebody who’s talking about issues that would otherwise go untalked about,” he said during an interview before former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli squared off in their latest debate that took place at the Capital One Conference Center in McLean. “[I’m running] to make sure there’s a candidate that’s talking about freedom across the board — both economic freedom and personal liberty.”
Recent polls suggest that Sarvis, 37, has become a factor in Cuccinelli’s gradual loss of support among Virginia voters over the last several weeks.
A Washington Post-Abt SRBI poll released two days before the September 25 debate found 47 percent of likely Virginia voters support McAuliffe, compared to 39 percent who support Cuccinelli and 10 percent who back Sarvis. A survey that Quinnipiac University conducted between Sept. 9-15 found McAuliffe ahead of Cuccinelli by a 44-41 percent margin. Seven percent of respondents said they support Sarvis.
“When you look at all the polls together, it becomes pretty clear that a lot of my support is coming from independents,” Sarvis told the Blade. “There’s support coming from people who are very much dissatisfied with their party’s candidate. And it comes fairly equally from both sides.”
Sarvis, who lives in Annandale in Fairfax County with his wife Astrid and their two children, left the Republican Party in 2011 after he unsuccessfully challenged current Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax County.)
“I was a fairly explicitly moderate, libertarian Republican,” Sarvis said. “I learned that the Republican Party just isn’t a good vehicle for liberty candidates. The move to the Libertarian Party kind of frees me up to push hard on the things that I believe in.”
Sarvis ran his first television campaign ad during the September 25 debate between McAuliffe and Cuccinelli. He also highlighted his support of nuptials for gays and lesbians over the summer in an online spot that highlighted the landmark 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case that found the commonwealth’s ban on interracial marriages unconstitutional.
Sarvis said in the ad he may not have been able to marry his wife if Richard and Mildred Loving hadn’t challenged the Virginia law that deemed their D.C. marriage illegal.
“Today Virginia is still not for all lovers,” Sarvis said. “That’s why I want to honor the Loving legacy and lead the fight now in this election to recognize same-sex marriage in Virginia.”
Sarvis stressed to the Blade that some Virginia voters are “deathly afraid” of Cuccinelli becoming the commonwealth’s next governor. He further criticized the attorney general over his decision to appeal three-judge panel’s March ruling that found Virginia’s anti-sodomy law unconstitutional.
“When did he become a judicial activist, asking a court to rewrite the law from a morals legislation to child protection,” Sarvis said, referring to Cuccinelli’s claim the statute protects children. “He’s pretty not credible on that issue and it just goes to show he’s just out of the mainstream on it.”
Sarvis said he feels Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate E.W. Jackson is “fairly aligned” with Cuccinelli over their opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples in Virginia and what he described as his anti-gay rhetoric. He added he feels McAuliffe would not prove an effective advocate for LGBT Virginians in spite of his public support for marriage rights for gays and lesbians in the commonwealth.
“I’m in a really unique position to push that forward, to reach out to people in the GOP and explain to them why it’s such an important issue and why the GOP is wrong,” Sarvis said, referring to strong opposition to the issue in the Virginia House of Delegates. “Starting from the premise that it’s not going to pass is a huge mistake.”
Sarvis said he also supports employment protections for gay employees and LGBT-inclusive discrimination provisions to any group that receives a state subsidy.
“People in public employment should not be discriminated against,” he said. “If you’re employed by the state, certainly the state shouldn’t be allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.”
Virginia
Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note
Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president
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.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours
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.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
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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