Local
D.C. U.S. Attorney meets with LGBT advocates over hate crimes
Concerns that Liu’s office has backed away from prosecuting hate crimes
The United States Attorney for D.C., Jessie K. Liu, met on Tuesday with two members of the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission’s Rainbow Caucus and the president of the LGBT Bar Association of D.C.
Dupont Circle ANC member and LGBT rights advocate Mike Silverstein told the Washington Blade the Rainbow Caucus requested the meeting to discuss concerns by LGBT activists that Liu’s office has backed away from prosecuting as hate crimes violent attacks against LGBT people, especially transgender women.
Joining Silverstein at the meeting were Rainbow Caucus member Jasper Bowles and DC LGBT Bar Association President Joseph Vardner.
Silverstein said that Liu, who was joined by five of her top staff members, told the three activists that the D.C. hate crimes law is vague regarding what prosecutors must prove in court before a jury in order to obtain a hate crime conviction.
According to Silverstein, Liu said her office interprets the law to require only that a motive of hate was a contributing factor in the crime. But the D.C. Public Defender Service, which represents many defendants charged with crimes, insists that the law requires prosecutors to show and prove that hate or bias was the only driving factor in the crime, Liu said at the meeting.
Currently, judges in individual cases must decide how to interpret the law, and depending which interpretation they make, prosecutors could negatively impact the ability to obtain a hate crime conviction, legal observers have said.
“We supported the U.S. Attorney’s interpretation and offered to lobby the D.C. Council to clarify the statute,” Silverstein told the Blade.
He called the meeting “productive and cordial.” A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office couldn’t immediately be reach for comment on the meeting.
Virginia
VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade
Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday
The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. 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.
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Virginia
Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment
Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3
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
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.
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