Miscellaneous
Maryland House committee holds hearing on transgender bill
Nearly identical measure passed in state Senate on Tuesday

Supporters and opponents of House Bill 1265 that state Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) introduced in January testified before the Health and Government Operations Committee.
āAll Marylanders deserve to be treated and protected equally under the law,ā said Lieutenant Gov. Anthony Brown as he spoke in support of the measure on behalf of Gov. Martin OāMalleyās administration.
State Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County) testified in support of HB 1265 alongside Jenna Fischetti of the Maryland Coalition for Trans Equality, Gender Rights Maryland Board Chair Sharon Brackett, Carrie Evans and Keith Thirion of Equality Maryland, Casa Ruby CEO Ruby Corado, Maryland Commission on Civil Rights Acting Executive Director Cleveland Horton, Hyattsville City Councilman Patrick Paschall and others. Attorney General Doug Gansler and state Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County) ā who are running against Brown in the Democratic gubernatorial primary ā also support HB 1265.
āI have not had a job in my chosen career in nearly 10 years,ā said Fischetti, telling lawmakers a suburban Baltimore car dealership fired her in 2004 because of her gender identity and expression.
The Maryland Catholic Conference, Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Diocese of Wilmington (Del.) that includes Marylandās Eastern Shore are among the groups that oppose HB 1265. State Del. Nic Kipke (R-Anne Arundel County) asked Sister Jeannine Gramick, executive coordinator of the National Coalition of American Nuns, about the Vaticanās decision to sanction her because of her LGBT-specific advocacy.
āItās opposite to the position of those bishops,ā said Gramick after she testified in support of HB 1265.
Elaine McDermott of Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government cited five reports of attacks and assaults committed by men in restrooms during her testimony against HB 1265. She also described Chrissy Lee Polis, a trans woman who was attacked at a Baltimore County McDonaldās in 2011, as a āprostitute.ā
āThis bill is unfair to me,ā said McDermott. āMy facilities should not become an open place, a free for all.ā
The hearing took place one day after the Maryland Senate by a 32-15 vote margin approved a trans rights bill ā Senate Bill 212 or the Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2014 ā that state Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County) introduced in January.
āI was very happy to see the bill come out of the Senate,ā Clippinger told the Washington Blade on Tuesday. āWeāve got great momentum to get the bill out of the House.ā
Clippinger, Evans and others continue to applaud Madaleno for introducing SB 212. Gender Rights Maryland Executive Director Dana Beyer, who announced her candidacy against the Montgomery County Democrat in January, has repeatedly praised state Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County) for his efforts to secure the measureās passage last month in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
State Sens. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince Georgeās County), James Brochin (D-Baltimore County) and Robert Zirkin (D-Baltimore County) are among the committee members who voted against a trans rights bill in 2013. They backed SB 212 last month when Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee moved to advance it to the Senate floor.
āWeāre pleased to see this is becoming a common sense issue that several senators on JPR who voted against the bill last year voted for it this year,ā Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign told the Blade last week. āThey can see it is where we are headed as a country which is ensuring that everyone is treated fairly under the law.ā
Baltimore City, Hyattsville and Baltimore, Howard and Montgomery Counties have already enacted trans-inclusive anti-discrimination ordinances.
Neighboring Delaware is among the 17 states along with D.C. and Puerto Rico that ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression. Lawmakers in Pennsylvania, New York and other states have introduced similar measures.
The Maryland House in 2011 approved a trans rights bill with 86 votes. It subsequently died in a Senate committee.
The House Health and Government Operations Committee is expected to vote on HB 1265, which has 61 co-sponsors, on March 12.
Celebrity News
Anne Heche dies after removal from life support
Actress dated Ellen DeGeneres in late 1990s

Actress Anne Heche died after she was removed from life support on Sunday, nearly two weeks after her Mini-Cooper crashed through a two-story house in Los Angelesā Mar Vista neighborhood. Investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department believe she was intoxicated at the time.
She sustained a severe anoxic brain injury along with severe burns and was being treated at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital, near Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley.
The 53-year-old actress who was a star of films likeĀ “Donnie Brasco,” the political satireĀ “Wag the Dog”Ā and the 1998 remake ofĀ “Psycho,” had been declared legally dead under California law on Friday, however, her family kept her alive long enough to be an organ donor.
In a statement Friday, the LAPD announced that: āAs of today, there will be no further investigative efforts made in this case. Any information or records that have been requested prior to this turn of events will still be collected as they arrive as a matter of formalities and included in the overall case. When a person suspected of a crime expires, we do not present for filing consideration.ā LAPD detectives had previously made public that investigators into the crash found narcotics in a blood sample taken from Heche.
The actress’s family released a statement on Friday:
“Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend. Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact,” the statement added.
Heche was married to camera operator Coleman Laffoon from 2001 to 2009. The two had a son, Homer, together. She had another son, named Atlas, during a relationship with actor James Tupper, her co-star on the TV series āMen In Trees.ā
Laffoon left a moving tribute on an Instagram reel in which he also gave an update on how their 20-year-old son Homer Laffoon is coping with the loss of his mother.
“I loved her and I miss her, and I’m always going to,” he said adding: “Homer is okay. He’s grieving, of course, and it’s rough. It’s really rough, as probably anybody can imagine. But he’s surrounded by family and he’s strong, and he’s gonna be okay.”
“Rest In Peace, Mom, I love you, Homer,ā the actor’s 20-year-old son, Homer, said in a statement after Heche was declared legally dead on Friday.ā My brother Atlas and I lost our Mom,ā read the statement. āAfter six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. Hopefully, my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom. Over those six days, thousands of friends, family, and fans made their hearts known to me. I am grateful for their love, as I am for the support of my Dad, Coley, and my stepmom Alexi who continue to be my rock during this time. Rest In Peace Mom, I love you, Homer.ā
Tupper, a Canadian actor who starred alongside Heche in “Men in Trees,” had a 13-year-old son,Ā Atlas, withĀ her. “Love you forever,” Tupper, 57, wrote on his Instagram post’s caption with a broken heart emoji, which shared an image of the actress from Men in Trees.
Between 1997 and 2000, Heche was also in a relationship with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.
“This is a sad day,” DeGeneres posted on Twitter. “I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all of my love.” The year after her break-up with the comedian, in September 2001, Heche recounted in her memoir “Call Me Crazy,ā about her lifelong struggles with mental health and a childhood of abuse.
KTLA’s entertainment reporter Sam Rubin noted that over the past two decades, Hecheās career pivoted several times. In 2017, she hosted a weekly radio show on SiriusXM with Jason Ellis called āLove and Heche.ā
In 2020, Heche made her way into the podcast world. She launched āBetter Togetherā which she cohosted alongside Heather Duffy Boylston. The show was described as a way to celebrate friendship.
She also worked in smaller films, on Broadway, and on TV shows. She recently had recurring roles on the network series āChicago P.D.,ā and āAll Riseā and was a contestant on āDancing with the Stars.ā
People magazine reported that several of Hecheās acting projects are expected to be released posthumously.
These includeĀ “Girl in Room 13,” expected to be released on Lifetime in September,Ā “What Remains,” scheduled to be released in 2023, and HBO Max TV seriesĀ “The Idol,” created by Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd) and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.
In her Instagram post from earlier this year Heche stands between her sons Atlas, 13 and Homer, 20.
From KTLA:
Celebrity News
‘Star Trek’ actress Nichelle Nichols dies at 89
George Takei tweets ‘we lived long and prospered together’

She was a groundbreaking cultural icon who broke barriers in a time of societal upheaval and battling for the civil rights of Black Americans. An actress, a mother and thoroughly devoted to the legions of fans of “Star Trek,” Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek’s Lt. Nyota Uhura, has died at 89.
The announcement on her Facebook page by her son read:
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Friends, Fans, Colleagues, World
I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years.
Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration.
Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.
I, and the rest of our family, would appreciate your patience and forbearance as we grieve her loss until we can recover sufficiently to speak further. Her services will be for family members and the closest of her friends and we request that her and our privacy be respected.
Live Long and Prosper,
Kyle Johnson
Nichols was born in Robbins, Ill., in 1932, according to her IMDb page. Legendary composer Duke Ellington ādiscoveredā Nichols and helped her become a singer and dancer. She later turned to acting, and joined Gene Roddenberryās āStar Trek,ā where she played Uhura from 1966 to 1969.

It was in that role of Uhura that Nichols not only broke barriers between races, most famously her onscreen kiss, the first between a Black person and a white person, with castmate William Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk, but she also became a role model for young Black women and men inspiring them to seek out their own places in science, technology, and other human endeavors.
In numerous interviews over the years Nichols often recalled how the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a fan of the show and praised her role and personally encouraged her to stay with the series.
When the first series ended Nichols went on to become a spokesperson for NASA, where she āhelped recruit and inspire a new generation of fearless astronauts.āĀ She later reprised her role in several successful “Star Trek” films and continued to advocate for the advancement of Black Americans especially in the areas of science and technology.
We celebrate the life of Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek actor, trailblazer, and role model, who symbolized to so many what was possible. She partnered with us to recruit some of the first women and minority astronauts, and inspired generations to reach for the stars. pic.twitter.com/pmQaKDb5zw
ā NASA (@NASA) July 31, 2022
Formerly a NASA deputy administrator, Frederick Gregory, now 81,Ā told the Associated PressĀ he once saw an advertisement in which Nichols said āI want you to apply for the NASA program.ā
āShe was talking to me,ā he recounted. The U.S. Air Force pilot would apply and later become the first African American shuttle pilot.
President Joe Biden weighed in Sunday afternoon on her passing in a statement issued by the White House:
“In Nichelle Nichols, our nation has lost a trailblazer of stage and screen who redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women.
A daughter of a working-class family from Illinois, she first honed her craft as an actor and singer in Chicago before touring the country and the world performing with the likes of Duke Ellington and giving life to the words of James Baldwin.
During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, she shattered stereotypes to become the first Black woman to act in a major role on a primetime television show with her groundbreaking portrayal of Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek. With a defining dignity and authority, she helped tell a central story that reimagined scientific pursuits and discoveries. And she continued this legacy by going on to work with NASA to empower generations of Americans from every background to reach for the stars and beyond.
Our nation is forever indebted to inspiring artists like Nichelle Nichols, who show us a future where unity, dignity, and respect are cornerstones of every society.“
Nichols son said that services will be private for family members and her closest friends.
In 2008 the actress at a news conference, coordinated by the filmmakers of the motion picture “TRU LOVED,” in honor of the more than 900 students at Los Angeles’ Miguel Contreras Learning Complex’s School of Social Justice who participated in the GLSEN Day of Silence.
Nichelle Nichols speaks on LGBTQ rights:
Her fellow castmate and life long friend, openly Out actor George Takei shared his sadness on hearing of Nichols’ passing on Twitter:
We lived long and prospered together. pic.twitter.com/MgLjOeZ98X
ā George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 31, 2022
From the September 2016 edition of the Smithsonian Channel: “Star Trekās decision to cast Nichelle Nichols, an African American woman, as major character on the show was an almost unheard-of move in 1966. But for black women all over the country, it redefined the notions of what was possible.”
Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols on Uhura’s Radical Impact:
Miscellaneous
Emma Corin becomes first nonbinary person featured on cover of American Vogue
The star of The Crown opened up about their identity.

Emma Corin was announced as the cover star of the August edition of Vogue. Itās the first time a nonbinary person is featured on the cover of American Vogue.
Corin posted the cover photo and wrote, āMy grin really says it all! A huge honour to be your August cover.ā
In early 2021, Corin quietly came out as a queer and nonbinary, changing pronouns to āshe/theyā in their instagram bio. Currently Corin sticks to pronouns āthey/them.ā
āI feel much more seen when Iām referred to as āthey,ā but my closest friends, they will call me āshe,ā and I donāt mind, because I know they know me,ā Corin explained during the interview with Vogue.
Corin stated that theyāve still gone on dates with various kinds of people and set no limit on who they date. āI like people,ā they simply said and shrugged.
Corin also shared some of their dating experiences. āMy first date with a girl, they were like, Oh! Youāre a baby queer!ā Corin said, āIt was amazing. We actually didnāt end up seeing each other again, but she really gave me the lowdown.ā
Besides, Corin was frank about their conflicting feelings towards gender and sexuality issues. āIām working out all this complex gender and sexuality stuff. And yet, Iām seeing a guy? That feels very juxtaposed, even if Iām very happy.ā
Corin is known for playing Diana on the Netflix series The Crown.
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