Local
Sam Arora announces he will not seek re-election
Democrat campaigned in support of same-sex marriage, voted against gay nuptials bill
Maryland Del. Sam Arora (Courtesy photo)
“When my term of office concludes in January 2015, I plan to return full time to my work in the private sector,” state Del. Sam Arora (D-Montgomery County) said in an e-mail to supporters that Maryland Juice obtained. “Fighting for you in the House of Delegates is an extraordinarily rewarding experience, and I am honored anew each day by the opportunity to serve you. After my term, I look forward to continuing to advocate for working families, job growth and better government as a private citizen.”
Arora, who campaigned in support of nuptials for gays and lesbians in Maryland during his 2010 campaign to represent District 19 that includes Silver Spring and portions of Rockville and Gaithersburg, co-sponsored a same-sex marriage bill at the start of the 2011 legislative session.
The Montgomery County Democrat’s subsequent vote against the measure that Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law in 2012 sparked outrage among LGBT rights advocates–and prompted his then-legislative director to resign.
Arora earlier this year pointed out during an interview on “News Talk with Bruce DePuyt” on News Channel 8 that he, Del. Geraldine Valentino-Smith (D-Prince George’s County) and then-Del. Tiffany Alston of Prince George’s County introduced a proposed amendment to the gay nuptials bill that would have replaced marriage with civil unions.
The House Judiciary and Health and Government Operations Committee tabled the proposal.
“I’ve talked to a lot of voters about it… I wanted full legal equality,” Arora told DePuyt in response to a question that David Moon of Maryland Juice asked during the aforementioned interview. “I originally thought that this bill was the right way to go. I then said I think there’s a different way to go and I proposed an amendment and that wasn’t the way the state ended up going, which is fine. The voters have approved this and now we move forward.”
Maricé Morales, an aide to state Sen. Roger Manno (D-Montgomery County), and Melodye Berry have both announced their candidacies to represent District 19. Others are expected to formally declare their own bids in the coming weeks and months.
Photos
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)
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
PHOTOS: D.C. Trans Pride
Men convicted of murdering two men in NYC gay bar drugging scheme sentenced
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
WorldPride events round-up
Pope Leo XIV: Family based on ‘stable union between a man and a woman’
Wes Moore signs HIV decriminalization bill
