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Thousands celebrate Baltimore Pride

Politicians, activists join parade

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Baltimore Pride, gay news, Washington Blade

Baltimore Pride’s 40th anniversary festivities returned to the gayborhood. (Washington Blade photo by Antwan J. Thompson)

Any concerns about the shift of dates for Baltimore Pride from its customary June event to the weekend of July 25-26 were put to rest as thousands descended on Mount Vernon on a sun-baked Saturday to cheer on the Pride parade and celebrate at the block party.

Baltimore Pride’s 40th anniversary festivities returned to the gayborhood following an unpopular move in 2014 to the Mount Royal area. Pride is run by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB).

The new dates deep into July and a revised location for the annual parade as well as a new venue for the block party did not deter visitors from all over Maryland, D.C. and beyond to partake in the celebrations.

For many in Baltimore’s LGBT community, it was a bittersweet event as it marked the last time Club Hippo would take part as it is scheduled to close its doors later in the year after more than four decades.

“This is my last Pride as owner of the Hippo,” Chuck Bowers, who was selected to serve as the grand marshal at this year’s parade, told the Blade. “But it’s not my last Pride.”

The parade included a record 82 units and proceeded up Cathedral Street from Monument Street. It ended on Chase Street several blocks north.

A contingent from BlackOutPrideBmore, including transgender activists led the parade under the banner #BaltimoreTRANSUPrising. They highlighted racism within the LGBT community and called attention to the dangers facing many trans Baltimoreans. Marchers also carried signs proclaiming Black Lives Matter.    

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Interim Police Commissioner Kevin Davis marched as did Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Other political figures included Reps. Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen who are seeking to succeed the retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski.

Local advocacy and health organizations participated, such as FreeState Legal, Chase Brexton Health Services and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Bars past and present were represented including the Hippo, the Lodge from Boonsboro, Md., and a sizable contingent standing on a flatbed from the Baltimore Eagle, which has been closed since 2012 but which supporters are hoping to reopen.

The block party following the parade became so crowded it spilled onto surrounding streets. Newly elected president of the GLCCB board of directors, Jabari Lyles, spoke from the main stage and emphasized the role of people of color in the movement.

“We’re not free unless all of us are free,” he cautioned.

Headliners Cazwell, Ts Madison and Martha Wash and other performers entertained on the stage throughout the evening.

The Sunday event, more laid back than the frenetic block party, took place in Druid Hill Park. Many performers appeared on the main atage and the Lady Lisa Memorial Drag Stage.  Popular gay country singer Steve Grand was Sunday’s headliner.

Paul Liller, deputy director of the GLCCB and the person who oversaw Pride, was pleased with the weekend’s festivities.

“We at the GLCCB are very excited about how Pride 2015 went,” Liller told the Blade.  “We feel it was a great way to honor 40 years of LGBT activism and civil rights.”

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District of Columbia

Norton reintroduces bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ jurors in D.C. Superior Court

Congresswoman notes Congress controls local court system

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D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) on Friday, June 20, reintroduced her bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ D.C. residents in the process for selecting people to serve as jurors in D.C. Superior Court.

“The bill would clarify that D.C. residents may not be excluded or disqualified from jury service in the local D.C. trial court, the D.C. Superior Court, based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” Norton said in a statement.

“Specifically, this bill would clarify that the term ‘sex,’ which is a protected class under the nondiscrimination law that applies to jurors in the D.C. Superior Court includes sexual orientation and gender identity,” Norton said.

She points out in her statement that under the D.C. Home Rule Act approved by Congress that created D.C.’s local government, including an elected mayor and City Council, the federal government retained control over the local court system.

“Therefore, until D.C. is given authority to amend Title 11 of the D.C. Code, which one of my bills would do, an act of Congress is required to clarify that LGBTQ+ jurors in the D.C. Superior Court are protected from discrimination,” according to her statement.

A spokesperson for Norton couldn’t immediately be reached to determine whether Norton is aware of specific instances where residents were denied jury service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  

Online records of congressional action on Norton’s juror nondiscrimination bill show she had introduced it in 2019, 2021, and 2023, when it died in committee each year, except for the 117th Congress in 2022, when it was approved by a committee but died in the full House.

“During Pride month we are reminded of the many contributions of the LGBTQ+ community,” Norton said in her June 20 statement. “Nobody, including D.C. jurors, should be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and D.C. juries should not be deprived of the service of LGBTQ residents,” she added.

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PHOTOS: Pride on the Pier

Blade’s WorldPride celebration ends with fireworks show

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The Washington Blade's Pride on the Pier. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Washington Blade’s second day of Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC ended with a fireworks show on Saturday, June 7. The fireworks show was presented by the Leonard-Litz LGBTQ Foundation.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier (Photo by Cedric Craig for Wild Side Media)
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Virginia

Hashmi to face Reid in Va. LG race

State senator won Democratic primary on Tuesday

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Ghazala Hashmi (Screen capture via One Vote At A Time/YouTube)

State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Chesterfield) will face John Reid in the race to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor. 

Hashmi won the Democratic primary with 27.49 percent of the vote. She defeated former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, state Sen. Aaron Rouse (D-Virginia Beach), Babur Lateef, Victor Salgado and Alexander Bastani.

“Tonight, Virginians made history,” said Hashmi in a statement. “We didn’t just win a primary, we sent a clear message that we won’t be bullied, broken, or dragged backward by the chaos in Washington.”

Reid, a gay conservative talk show host, in April won the Republican nomination to succeed Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin. 

The incumbent governor days after Reid secured the nomination called for him to withdraw his candidacy amid reports that a social media account with his username included “pornographic content.” Reid, who would become the first openly gay person elected to statewide office in Virginia if he wins in November, has strongly denied the reports.

Former state Del. Jay Jones defeated Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor in Democratic attorney general primary. Jones will face Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares in November.

Youngkin cannot run for a second, consecutive term.

Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger will face off against Earle-Sears in November. The winner will make history as the first woman elected governor in the state’s history.

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