Local
LGBT veterans honored at Congressional Cemetery
Active duty service members place wreath at Matlovich gravesite
Gay and lesbian military service members participated in a Veterans Day wreath laying ceremony on Monday. (Photo by Patsy Lynch)
A contingent of active-duty and retired gay and lesbian military service members and their supporters participated in a Veterans Day wreath laying ceremony on Monday in D.C.’s Congressional Cemetery to honor LGBT service members, including those who lost their lives while serving their country.
The event took place at the gravesite of Air Force Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, who in 1975 became the first active duty service member to challenge the military’s ban on gays. The Air Force provided a formal military burial for Matlovich in Congressional Cemetery at the time of his death in 1988 as LGBT activists recognized his role as a champion in the cause of lifting the ban on gays in the military.
Lt. Col. Todd Burton, a member of the Army National Guard who organized the Veterans Day tribute, said the Matlovich gravesite was selected because Matlovich intended the site to be used as a tribute to all LGBT service members. Burton organized the event on behalf of Outserve/Service Members Legal Defense Network, a national group representing LGBT service members.
“It’s a privilege to gather here with fellow service members to honor one of our own,” Burton said. “What an honor to be able to do this together.”
About 20 participants gathered around the gravesite as Burton told of Matlovich’s role as a leading force in the movement to end the military’s ban on gays. Although Matlovich didn’t live to see that happen, Burton said he became an inspiration for succeeding generations of LGBT service members.
Burton noted that the ashes of D.C. gay rights leader Frank Kameny, who counseled Matlovich during Matlovich’s challenge of the military’s gay ban, would soon be buried at a site in the cemetery close to the Matlovich gravesite. Kameny, a World War II combat veteran, died in 2011.
As Burton completed his tribute, Sr. Master Sgt. Kevin Murphy of the Air Force and Sr. U.S. Navy Chief Dwayne Beebe-Franqui — both wearing military uniforms — placed a wreath behind the Matlovich gravesite’s internationally recognized headstone.
Matlovich anonymously arranged for the headstone’s placement at the cemetery prior to his death. He told friends and associates that he wanted it to be used to honor all LGBT service members.
The stone is made of the same black granite used in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall located on the National Mall. Matlovich arranged for pink triangles to be embedded into the headstone in reference to the symbol used to identify gay men in Nazi concentration camps and which later became an international symbol for gay rights.
As a veteran who served in combat during the Vietnam War, Matlovich also had inscribed in the headstone a statement now widely known in the LGBT rights movement: “They gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”
Matlovich’s name was placed in a separate footstone at the gravesite shortly after his death.
“I’m honored to stand here right now,” said Beebe-Franqui shortly after placing the wreath at the gravesite.
“I survived the entire ordeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” he said, noting that’s he’s been in the Navy 21 years. “I never thought it was going to go away and when it finally did it was just an amazing day for everyone. And that’s why for all those years of having to hide, I decided to not hide anymore and stand and be a leader in the Navy and to support LGBT troops.”
Beebe-Franqui, who was accompanied at the ceremony by his husband, Jonathan Beebe-Franqui, said the two live together on a Navy base in Nashville, Tenn., where he’s currently stationed.
During the ceremony, Burton called on the gathering to observe a moment of silence to honor four gay male service members and one lesbian service member who died in action while serving in the military. The five are Lloyd Darling, who was killed in Vietnam in 1968; Alan Rogers, killed in Iraq in 2008; Andy Wilfahrt, killed in Afghanistan in 2011; Donna Johnson, killed in Afghanistan in 2012; and Reid Nishizuka, killed in Afghanistan in 2013.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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