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Georgian prime minister seeks marriage amendment

LGBT rights advocates describe proposal as ‘homophobic’ and ‘cynical’

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Irakli Vacharadze, Georgia, gay news, Washington Blade

Irakli Vacharadze, Georgia, gay news, Washington Blade

Georgian LGBT rights advocate Irakli Vacharadze. (Photo courtesy of Irakli Vacharadze)

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili last week proposed a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman in the former Soviet republic.

Identoba, a Georgian LGBT advocacy group, noted Garibashvili announced “the homophobic intention of his government” to amend the country’s constitution as he spoke about an anti-discrimination measure his administration sent to the Georgian Parliament. The organization added the proposed amendment “can only be seen as a homophobic move” because Georgian law already bans same-sex marriage.

“If the amendment is successfully initiated, it will directly violate universal equality of single parents, LGBT community and many others who do not live in nuclear families,” said Identoba. “Alarmingly, this homophobic and cynical move ultimately kills the very spirit of equality protection of the incoming Anti-Discrimination Law.”

Identoba Executive Director Irakli Vacharadze told the Washington Blade he feels Garibashvili introduced the proposed marriage amendment as a way to mobilize “hater-voters” ahead of local elections that are slated to take place in June.

“They are [the] majority,” said Vacharadze. “Even if it doesn’t go to Parliament, the damage is already done: The ‘attack them’ message is out. Everyone in the coalition said they’d vote in favor of the change.”

Georgia, which continues to seek closer ties with the European Union and NATO, has been a member of the Council of Europe since 1999.

Croatian voters last December approved a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Hungary, Latvia and other E.U. countries also prohibit gay nuptials.

Same-sex couples can currently marry in Iceland, England, Wales, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Portugal. Irish voters next year are scheduled to vote on whether gays and lesbians can exchange vows in their country.

Georgia’s hate crimes law includes both sexual orientation and gender identity. The former Soviet republic’s anti-employment discrimination statute also includes gay-specific protections.

“Constitutional bans are highly symbolic measures to enshrine discrimination in law and to prevent debates on recognition for same-sex couples,” said ILGA-Europe Executive Director Evelyne Paradise in response to Garibashvili’s proposed marriage amendment. “These bans are largely tools used by those who oppose equality for LGBTI people to institutionalize discrimination against LGBTI people.”

Anti-LGBT violence remains a serious concern for Georgian advocates.

Thousands of people attacked a few dozen LGBT rights advocates who tried to stage a rally in Tbilisi, the country’s capital, last May as they tried to commemorate the annual International Day Against Homophobia.

Vacharadze told the Blade that Georgian authorities have yet to arrest anyone connected with the aforementioned violence. He also noted lawmakers in neighboring Russia on Wednesday announced they plan to amend the Russian constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

“One should really [not] try to look worse than Russia in this regard,” said Vacharadze. “Georgia has managed to do it.”

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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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Sasha Colby performs at Pitchers in 2023. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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.

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The Vatican

Executive director of LGBTQ Catholic group to travel to Rome for conclave

Marianne Duddy-Burke met Pope Francis in 2023

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DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke, middle, greets Pope Francis in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Marianne Duddy-Burke)

The executive director of a group that represents LGBTQ Catholics will travel to Rome next week for the papal conclave that starts on May 7.

DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke on Thursday told the Washington Blade she will arrive in Rome on May 6. Duddy-Burke said she plans to spend time in St. Peter’s Square “and have conversations with people.”

“I will wear Dignity insignia, have rainbow flags,” she said.

Pope Francis died on April 21. His funeral took place five days later.

The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.

Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial on April 26.

Duddy-Burke and two others from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics met with Francis in October 2023 during a meeting that focused on the Catholic Church’s future. Duddy-Burke noted Francis “invited” her and her colleagues as his “special guests for the audience and then had a conversation with him afterwards.”

“For me the sort of visibility that he (Francis) brought to our community and to our concerns feels irreversible,” said Duddy-Burke. “He empowered so many people and so many new ministries.”

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu — the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo who has described homosexuality as an “abomination” — is among the cardinals who are reportedly in the running to succeed Francis.

“I really don’t know,” said Duddy-Burke when the Blade asked her who the next pope will be. “Of course, I am hoping and praying hard that it will be someone who will continue to lead the church on responsiveness of human need and greater inclusivity.”

“What happens in that room is such a mystery,” she added.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

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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