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Baltimore wins perfect score from HRC

One of 47 cities to earn highest marks

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Baltimore, gay news, Washington Blade, transgender
Baltimore, Maryland, gay news, Washington Blade, open walls

Baltimore is among 47 cities to earn a perfect score from HRC. (Photo public domain)

Baltimore is among 47 cities in the United States that received a perfect 100 score in the Human Rights Campaign’s 2015 Municipal Equality Index (MEI). A total of 408 cities across the U.S. were assessed on the following criteria: Non-discrimination laws; municipality’s employment policies, including transgender-inclusive insurance coverage, contracting non-discrimination requirements, and other policies relating to equal treatment of LGBT city employees; inclusiveness of city services; law enforcement; and municipal leadership on matters of equality.

The average score for cities in Maryland is 70 out of 100 points, which falls above the national average of 56. Besides Baltimore’s 100 score, Annapolis received 67, Bowie 54, College Park 71, Frederick 64, Gaithersburg 59, Rockville 60, and Towson: 89.

“It is promising to see that the City of Baltimore has maintained its score of 100 out of 100 on the HRC Municipal Equality Index for the second year in a row, and we at FreeState Legal are continually working with city officials to further improve access to services for Baltimore’s low-income LGBTQ population,” Patrick Paschall, FreeState Legal’s executive director, told the Blade. “However, we must not lose sight of the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done in Baltimore and across our state for recent victories to fully translate into lived equality for LGBTQ Marylanders.”

Paschall notes that other cities in Maryland received imperfect scores, highlighting the need for cities to offer trans-inclusive health care benefits to city employees, increase services to LGBTQ youth, and serve Maryland’s LGBTQ homeless population.

“This report shows that Maryland is headed in the right direction, but we still have progress to be made to ensure that all LGBTQ Marylanders have access to health care, housing, public accommodations, employment, equal rights as parents, and equal access to all the other institutions and benefits that go along with being a resident of this great state,” he says.

The full national report, including detailed scorecards for every city, as well as a searchable database, is available online at hrc.org/mei.

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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

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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