Local
Gray performs City Hall wedding for gay couple
Ceremony is first under new law allowing mayor, Council to perform marriages


D.C. residents Rob Robertson and Carlos Taylor were married Tuesday by Mayor Vincent Gray. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Under the glare of TV news cameras, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray on Tuesday performed a wedding ceremony for a gay male couple in a reception room outside his office at the John Wilson City Hall Building.
Gray told D.C. residents Rob Robertson and Carlos Taylor and close to 50 friends and relatives who turned out to see them tie the matrimonial knot that he was pleased that the couple approached him to perform his very first wedding ceremony under a newly passed D.C. law.
The Marriage Officiant Act of 2013, which the D.C. Council passed and Gray signed earlier this year, among other things, gives the mayor and the 13 City Council members the authority to perform marriages. The bill became law on Nov. 5 after clearing its required review by Congress.
“One of the reasons that this particular ceremony is such a great honor for me is that it represents the cause for which I have been a long-time advocate,” Gray told the gathering. “To me, marriage equality and equal rights are matters of basic fairness and justice,” he said.
Robertson and Taylor each were born and raised in Virginia and moved to D.C. in 1996 and 1997 respectively. The two said they met in 1997 through a mutual friend, began dating in the summer of 1999, and have been a couple since that time. Both also work as Information Technology professionals and live in Adams Morgan.
They said their friend, gay activist Peter Rosenstein, suggested they consider letting Mayor Gray perform their wedding at a time when Rosenstein told them the Marriage Officiant Act was about to become law.
“We wanted to get married and we were having a drink with Peter and he said I know the mayor and I can introduce you, and maybe he’ll be willing to marry you,” Robertson told the Blade. “We thought it was a fantastic idea.”
“Peter reached out to the mayor and the mayor responded by saying it would be awesome,” said Taylor as he and Robertson mingled with well-wishers after the ceremony. “And that’s how we got here, and he’s been very welcoming.”
Gray told reporters he was happy to accept Robertson and Taylor’s request for the wedding ceremony and was “very pleased” that a gay couple became the first couple he was able to marry.
“If people ask me I’ll be happy to do it,” he said when asked if he plans on performing marriage ceremonies on a regular basis. “It could be a heterosexual couple. It could be a same-sex couple. That would be fine with me.”
The mayor accompanied Robertson and Taylor and their guests in an adjoining room after the ceremony for a Champagne toast in honor of the two grooms and to share in consuming a large wedding cake donated by local pastry chef Padua Player of the D.C.-based Suga Chef Desserts.
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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