Local
Gay incumbent beats gay challenger in Rehoboth race
Gossett retains seat amid ordinance controversies


Rehoboth Beach City Commissioner Patrick Gossett defeated challenger Richard Perry. (Photo public domain)
A heated dispute over proposed ordinances to regulate rental housing in the LGBT-friendly resort city of Rehoboth Beach, Del., emerged as the lead issue in the city’s Aug. 8 election in which incumbent gay City Commissioner J. Patrick Gossett beat gay challenger Richard Perry.
Gossett, a longtime Rehoboth civic activist and resident, has sided with fellow commissioners and Rehoboth Mayor Sam Cooper who favor more stringent regulations that they say are needed to prevent the city’s quiet residential neighborhoods from being inundated by large, newly built rental houses.
Perry, an attorney and newcomer to Rehoboth politics, was backed by a coalition of business owners and renters, including many gay residents and vacationers, who believe the Board of Commissioners crossed the line in proposing — and in some cases passing — ill-conceived regulatory measures that critics say will hurt the city in the long run.
While Perry lost his bid for one of two seats on the Commission that were up for election on Aug. 8, challenger Paul Kuhns, a former commissioner who expressed mostly the same positions as Perry on the regulatory issues, defeated incumbent Commissioner Willis Sargent, who largely held the same views as Gossett on those issues.
Sources familiar with Rehoboth politics, including Perry himself, said more voters chose Gossett mostly likely because he had greater name recognition and was viewed as more experienced and involved in local civic affairs for a longer period of time than Perry.
Perry said he believes he also lost support by what he called an unfair effort by his opponents to “mischaracterize” him as a real estate developer seeking to profit from Rehoboth’s booming rental housing market. Although he’s in the process of building a second home in Rehoboth, Perry said he is not a developer. He said his motive for opposing many of the proposed regulatory measures is to ensure that the city continues to benefit from a strong economy based on vacationers and renters.
Under the Rehoboth electoral system for the Board of Commissioners, which serves as the city’s legislative body, all seats are at-large seats. In the case of the Aug. 8 election, the highest two vote getters were declared the winners.
The final vote count released by the city’s Board of Elections showed that Kuhns came in first place with 545 votes followed by Gossett, who came in second with 521 votes. Sargent finished third with 464 votes. Perry came in fourth place with 407 votes.
“Although I lost and came in last, no one who has run for the first time has ever got as many votes as I got,” Perry told the Washington Blade on Monday. “So I think they got the message very strong on Saturday,” he said, referring to what he said was his and Kuhns’ message of opposition to over regulation.
Virginia
Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note
Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.
Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.
The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.
“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.
She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.
John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.
Reid has strongly denied the reports.
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

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.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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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