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D.C. responds to gay cop’s bias lawsuit

City denies all allegations

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Supreme Court marriage, gay news, Washington Blade
Supreme Court marriage, gay news, Washington Blade, Karl Racine

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed a brief Oct. 12. (Photo courtesy of Racine)

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on Oct. 12 filed a court brief responding to a lawsuit filed last year by a gay former D.C. police officer accusing fellow officers and supervisors of subjecting him to discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on his sexual orientation.

Racine’s 17-page brief, filed on behalf of the city and the Metropolitan Police Department, states that his office either denies or lacks sufficient information to “admit or deny” a long list of allegations in the lawsuit filed by former MPD Officer Christopher Lilly.

Among the allegations Lilly makes in his lawsuit are that fellow officers at the department’s Fourth District repeatedly called him anti-gay names, subjected him to ridicule and a hostile work environment because of his sexual orientation, and attached 40 D.C. government AIDS awareness magnets to his locker.

At the time the magnets were affixed to his locker Lilly also discovered on the floor next to his locker “a large ‘spurt’ looking puddle of unknown white liquid meant to simulate ejaculation,” the lawsuit says.

The response by Racine came just over two weeks after U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan approved a motion by Racine calling for three of the lawsuit’s 11 counts to be dismissed. The motion said the three counts failed to state a valid claim that the alleged discrimination faced by Lilly violated his First and Fifth Amendment constitutional rights.

Both Racine’s office and Lilly’s attorney, Sameera Ali, have declined requests for comment on the case.

D.C. attorney Brian Markovitz, who specializes in employment rights law, said the fact that Racine’s brief responding to the lawsuit doesn’t disclose why the city denies Lilly’s specific allegations is a standard practice for responding to a lawsuit of this type at this stage in the litigation. He predicted it would take at least two years before the information gathering process known as discovery would be completed and the case would be ready for trial.

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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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