Local
Former D.C. resident Franklin Dell’Aquila dies at 62
Business owner who also worked for Secret Service
Franklin S. Dell’Aquila (Photo courtesy CAMP Rehoboth)
Franklin S. Dell’Aquila, who lived in D.C. beginning in the 1970s, where he worked for the U.S. Secret Service, owned a men’s clothing store and later became a hairstylist, died Aug. 8 at a hospice in Phoenixville, Pa. He was 62.
His longtime friend Tony Amato said the cause of death was complications associated with multiple sclerosis.
Dell’Aquila lived and worked in D.C. for close to 30 years before returning around 2000 to his hometown of Royersford, Pa. He was well known in gay community circles in D.C. and Rehoboth Beach, Del., according to Amato and others who knew him.
Amato said Dell’Aquila returned to Royersford to help his ailing mother and a disabled brother. While there, he changed careers to become a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service where he worked for 10 years until his recent retirement.
He was born in nearby Pottstown, Pa., where he graduated in 1971 from St. Pius High School, according to a write-up prepared by family members.
“Franklin enjoyed music, loved to travel, and was an avid gardener, and enjoyed listening to Celtic music,” the write-up says.
Steve Elkins, executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, an LGBT community center in Rehoboth Beach, said he first met Dell’Aquila in the 1970s while Elkins worked at the White House during the administration of President Jimmy Carter and Dell’Aquila was assigned to the presidential detail with the Secret Service.
“I’ll never forget giving a friend a tour of the West Wing and seeing a silver haired agent, although he was in his early twenties, and finding out later it was Frank,” said Elkins.
Elkins said he and his partner, Murray Archibald, became good friends of Dell’Aquila’s when Elkins and Archibald moved to Rehoboth Beach and helped found CAMP Rehoboth.
“Frank was a long-time member of CAMP Rehoboth and a host of the annual Sundance Benefit,” said Elkins, who noted that Dell’Aquila became a regular weekend visitor to Rehoboth.
“We were all very lucky to have known him,” Amato said. “He was a great person, very generous and caring and a true friend. He had a lot of friends.”
Dell’Aquila is survived by his sister Diane Simon of North Wales, Pa.; a brother, John Dell’Aquila of Phoenixville, Pa.; several nieces and nephews; and many friends. Family members said a gift in his memory could be made to the ARC, a D.C.-based advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at thearc.org.
A memorial celebration of Dell’Aquila’s life is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. at the Horizon House Condominium Community Room, 1300 Army Navy Dr., Arlington, Va. Amato, who’s hosting the event, asks that those planning to attend RSVP at 703-892-6286.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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