Local
Va. cookouts highlight marriage fight
Judge’s ruling expected in coming months
Equality Virginia organized a series of cookouts last weekend to highlight its support of same-sex marriage in the state. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Equality Virginia last weekend organized a series of cookouts designed to highlight support of marriage rights for same-sex couples in the commonwealth.
Kelly Cole and Suzanne Freeze, who married in D.C. in 2011, hosted nearly 45 people at their Fairfax County home on May 18. State Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Fairfax County) is among those who attended.
“I look forward to the day when the debate over gay marriage will be over, and no one will doubt that anyone and everyone should be able to marry who they love,” said Marsden in a statement to the Washington Blade. “When people look back at the history of Virginia, the ban on marriage equality will be yet another chapter that we will have to explain to our children.”
Nearly two-dozen people attended a cookout that Dwayne and Rodney Byrum hosted at their Alexandria home on May 17.
The two men, who have been together for four years, married on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques last December.
“Everybody is kind of fighting the inevitable,” Dwayne Byrum told the Washington Blade.
The cookouts took place less than a week after a three-judge panel with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the commonwealth’s same-sex marriage ban.
The judges are expected to announce their ruling in the coming months.
“It’s a long time coming,” Cole told the Blade when asked about when she thinks same-sex couples will be able to legally marry in Virginia. “I just can’t believe it’s not here.”
Virginia
VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade
Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday
The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.
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Virginia
Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3
The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.
Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.
“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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