Local

Hearing set for street-naming bill for gay Democrat

Richard Rausch was prominent LGBT activist

Published

8 years ago

September 15, 2017

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Richard Rausch, gay news, Washington Blade

Richard Rausch (Photo courtesy of David Meadows)

The D.C. City Council has scheduled a hearing on Sept. 20 for a bill calling for the ceremonial naming of a street on Capitol Hill for the late Richard Rausch, a prominent gay Democratic Party activist and advocate for LGBT rights.

Rausch was an Iowa native who first came to D.C. in 1960 after working on President John F. Kennedy’s election campaign. He died in 2007 after a bout with double pneumonia. He was 77.

He was an “early and open advocate for LGBTQ rights, women’s rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, and human rights” during his tenure as a staff member for Democratic members of Congress and in leadership positions in the party, according to a resolution approved Monday by the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club endorsing the Rausch street-naming bill.

The bill, introduced by Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), calls for designating the 200 block of 2nd Street, S.E., where Rausch lived for many years, as Richard Rausch Way.

Nine members of the 13-member Council, including Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. The Sept. 20 hearing will be held by the Council’s Committee of the Whole, which Mendelson chairs.

“We don’t want to forget our community heroes, and Richard is definitely one we count as among those who not only have been activists in the community but have helped others,” Bonds said in discussing her reason for introducing the bill. “So I think it’s perfectly appropriate.”

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Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Inaugural Parade

Gov. Spanberger cheers for Diversity Richmond, Virginia Pride

Published

4 minutes ago

January 17, 2026

Michael Key

Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond march in the 2026 Inauguration Parade on the grounds of the state capitol in Richmond, Va. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.

View on Threads

*The LGBTQ contingent in the Inauguration Parade in Richmond, Va. pass by the review stand on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)*

Virginia

Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3

Published

8 hours ago

January 17, 2026

Staff reports

(Bigstock photo)

The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.

Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.

“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”

Maryland

Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated

Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs

Published

1 day ago

January 16, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Merrick Moses, a violence prevention coordinator, works at the Pride Center of Maryland in Baltimore. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz for the Baltimore Banner)

By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.

The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.

By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.