Local
D.C. Council backs DP ‘termination’ bill
Correcting a legal quirk
A second and final vote on the Domestic Partnership Termination Recognition Amendment Act has been scheduled for the Council’s next legislative session on Dec. 1. (Photo by Andrew Wiseman; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
The D.C. Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to give preliminary approval to a bill that would allow couples that had domestic partnerships legally registered in another jurisdiction to terminate those partnerships by judicial decree in the District.
The bill, the Domestic Partnership Termination Recognition Amendment Act of 2015, would amend the city’s existing domestic partnership law to correct a “legal quirk” that prevents couples who moved to D.C. from another jurisdiction from terminating their partnerships unless they reestablish residency in the state in which the partnership was originally registered.
According to a legislative report prepared by the Council’s Judiciary Committee, under the existing law couples may only terminate their partnerships using an administrative process at the D.C. Department of Health. The DOH has been in charge of registering and terminating domestic partnerships since the Council first passed the D.C. domestic partnership law in 1992.
Although the DOH has granted terminations of domestic partnerships to couples whose partnerships were registered in other jurisdictions, some of those jurisdictions do not recognize the terminations through an administrative process, saying such a process doesn’t carry the same weight as a judicial decree issued by a judge in a court of law.
The Council report says that since 2002, the DOH has registered 2,592 domestic partnerships and terminated 220.
“Registrations are almost evenly split between opposite-gender and same-gender partnerships,” the report says. “Of late, however, male/female-identified registrations comprise nearly 75 percent of all registrations,” it says, adding that so far in 2015 no partnerships were terminated and only two terminations were recorded in 2014.
LGBT activists have said that domestic partnerships became less popular among same-sex couples in D.C. since the city began legally recognizing same-sex marriage in 2010.
A second and final vote on the Domestic Partnership Termination Recognition Amendment Act has been scheduled for the Council’s next legislative session on Dec. 1.
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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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