Local
Virginia lawmakers seek ability to defend state laws
House committee approved bill day after AG marriage announcement
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring on Thursday announced he will not defend the state’s constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage.(Photo courtesy of Herring for Attorney General)
The 13-7 vote in the House Courts of Justice Committee on the measure that state Dels. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah County) and Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County) introduced on Jan. 7 took place a day after Attorney General Mark Herring announced he would not defend the state’s constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage.
State Dels. Dave Albo (R-Fairfax County), Rob Bell (R-Charlottesville), Ben Cline (R-Rockbridge County), Jackson Miller (R-Manassas), G. Manoli Loupassi (R-Richmond), Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach), Greg Habeeb (R-Salem), Randy Minchew (R-Loudoun County), Rick Morris (R-Isle of Wight County), James Leftwich (R-Chesapeake), A. Benton Chafin (R-Russell County), Les Adams (R-Pittsylvania County) and Gilbert voted for House Bill 706. State Dels. Vivian Watts (D-Fairfax County), David Toscano (D-Charlottesville), Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria), Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), Patrick Hope (D-Arlington County), Mark Keam (D-Fairfax County) and Monty Mason (D-Williamsburg) opposed the measure.
State Dels. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott County) and Jeff Campbell (R-Smyth County) did not vote on HB 706 that contains a so-called emergency clause that would allow it to immediately become law if the governor were to sign it.
“A member of the General Assembly has standing to represent the interests of the commonwealth in a proceeding in which the constitutionality, legality or application of a law established under legislative authority is at issue and the governor and attorney general choose not to defend the law,” reads the measure.
Keam told the Washington Blade the committee vote took place without advance notice.
“Everybody knows that this wouldn’t even be an issue if Herring didn’t do what he did yesterday,” said the Fairfax County Democrat.
Keam further noted the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches of government has “been the same principle” in Virginia for 400 years.
“Why all of a sudden is there such an urgency that [they feel] like he has to change the rule now,” asked Keam. “The fact that they’re ramroding it through with emergency clause the day after the Mark Herring situation happens tells you that they’re driven by ideology.”
Virginia Republicans and social conservatives have blasted Herring for his decision not to defend the marriage amendment that voters in 2006 approved by a 57-43 percent margin. They also criticized him for joining a federal lawsuit against it that two same-sex couples from Norfolk and Richmond filed last year.
“Why didn’t he tell everybody when he was running for office what he was doing,” Marshall told Roll Call Editor-in-Chief Christina Bellantoni during an interview that aired on “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” on WAMU on Friday. “He kept this very cleverly to himself and sprung this like a Pearl Harbor attack on the people of Virginia after he takes an oath to defend the constitution.”
Pat Mullins, chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, on Thursday said Herring should resign so state lawmakers can appoint a successor who will defend the amendment. National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown on Friday reiterated his call for legislators to impeach the attorney general.
“He is duty-bound to defend Virginia’s law,” said Brown in an e-mail to supporters. “Yet here he is, abandoning the people and law of Virginia to pursue his own selfish motives.”
The full House is expected to vote on HB 706 on Jan. 29.
The Virginia Senate, which will likely return to Democratic control following former Loudoun County prosecutor Jennifer Wexton’s victory in the special election to fill the seat that Herring had previously held, will likely kill the measure.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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