Local

Mayoral candidates to hold LGBT ‘meet & greet’ events

Catania, Bowser, Schwartz vie for gay support

Published

11 years ago

July 23, 2014

Muriel Bowser, David Catania, Carol Schwartz, D.C. mayoral candidates, gay news, Washington Blade

D.C. mayoral candidates Muriel Bowser (D), David Catania (I) and Carol Schwartz (I) are each holding LGBT meet and greet events over the next several weeks. (Washington Blade photos of Bowser and Catania by Michael Key; photo of Schwartz by Pete Exis)

Gay Democratic activist Lane Hudson is co-hosting a Young Professionals Meet & Greet for D.C. Council member and mayoral candidate David Catania (I-At-Large) on Thursday evening, July 31.

Hudson says the event, to be held at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund headquarters downtown, is expected to attract mostly LGBT young professionals.

The Catania meet & greet is one of a series of such events that LGBT supporters of Catania and his two leading rivals in the mayor’s race – City Council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4) and former Council member Carol Schwartz, Republican turned independent – are planning to host over the next two months.

Gay businessman and LGBT activist Everett Hamilton, who’s supporting Bowser, and longtime gay rights and AIDS activist Cornelius Baker, who’s backing Schwartz, said several LGBT meet & greet receptions are being planned for their respective candidates in the next several weeks.

Baker said he’s hosting a Schwartz meet & greet at his home on July 27, just days after he was to return to Washington from attending the International AIDS Conference in Australia. Hamilton said Bowser hosted a transgender community meet & greet at her own home earlier this month and several of her supporters are planning more such events for the full LGBT community in the coming weeks.

All three candidates have been longtime supporters of LGBT rights. Catania and Schwartz supporters argue that their respective candidates have been involved in LGBT issues longer than Bowser, whom most political observers consider to be the frontrunner in the race at this time.

Bowser’s LGBT supporters argue that she is younger than Schwartz and Catania and hasn’t held elective office as long as they have but nevertheless has a strong pro-LGBT record during her tenure on the Council.

Gay mayoral candidate Bruce Majors, who’s running for the Libertarian Party, says he’s been an LGBT rights advocate for many years and also has been reaching out to the LGBT community for support.

Up Next

Michael Sam accepts ESPY award

Don't Miss

Trans women denied photo IDs at D.C. DMV office

FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade

Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday

Published

11 hours ago

January 17, 2026

Michael Key

Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond march in the 2026 Inauguration Parade on the grounds of the state capitol in Richmond, Va. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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.

View on Threads

*The LGBTQ contingent in the inaugural parade in Richmond, Va. pass by the review stand on Jan. 17, 2026. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)*

Virginia

Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3

Published

19 hours ago

January 17, 2026

Staff reports

(Bigstock photo)

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

Published

2 days ago

January 16, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Merrick Moses, a violence prevention coordinator, works at the Pride Center of Maryland in Baltimore. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz for the Baltimore Banner)

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.