Local
Top 10 local stories of 2021
Hate crimes, book bans, and Nellie’s protests

#10: Gay Asian man, parents assaulted in Northwest

A gay Asian man and his parents were treated and released from a local hospital after they were attacked and assaulted on Aug. 7 on a street near the Washington National Cathedral by a male assailant who shouted homophobic and anti-Asian slurs, according to D.C. police and court records.
Charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court state that D.C. police, who arrived on the scene a short time after the attack, arrested D.C. resident and American University graduate student Patrick Trebat, 38, on one count of felony assault, two counts of simple assault, and one count of destruction of property. The charging document says Trebat allegedly damaged the cell phone of Sean Lai, 30, an out gay man of Chinese ancestry, as he allegedly punched and kicked Lai and Lai’s elderly parents on the 3700 block of Fulton St., N.W. while shouting the words “faggots” and “You’re not Americans.”
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office changed the charges to two counts of felony assault with significant bodily injury and listed the incident as an anti-Asian bias related crime. American University in October announced Trebat was no longer a student at the school.
#9: D.C., Md, Va. pass laws banning panic defense

The D.C. Council and the Maryland and Virginia General Assemblies each passed their own laws in 2021 banning the use of the so-called LGBTQ panic defense in criminal trials.
LGBTQ rights organizations and legal experts have said attorneys representing defendants charged with committing violent crimes against LGBTQ people, including murder, have used the panic defense to confuse juries into finding them not guilty by arguing that their clients committed an act of violence against an LGBTQ person in a form of self-defense in a state of “panic” after they learned that the victim was an LGBTQ person. Supporters of banning the defense say it improperly places the blame for a violent act on the LGBTQ victim.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the legislation banning the panic defense after expressing strong support for the measures. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) declined to sign the Maryland bill but announced he would allow the bill to become law without his signature.
#8: Gay men arrested under Md. sodomy law in bookstore raid

Harford County, Md., Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested four men on a charge of Perverted Sexual Practice under the Maryland sodomy law during a May 20 raid on the Bush River Books & Video store in the town of Abington, located 25 miles north of Baltimore.
Four other men were charged with indecent exposure, and another was charged with solicitation for prostitution for a total of nine arrests during the May 20 raid that was prompted by complaints from nearby residents, according to a statement released by the Sheriff’s Office.
An attorney with the LGBTQ litigation group Lambda Legal said the sodomy arrests appeared to be a violation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling declaring state sodomy laws unconstitutional. Lambda attorney Greg Nevins said that although the Supreme Court ruling does not cover acts of sodomy committed in public places, the men arrested in the May 20 raid engaged in alleged consenting sexual acts in a locked video booth, which Sheriff’s deputies unlocked after obtaining keys from a bookstore employee. He said it would be up to a judge to decide whether the video booths could be considered a private space as argued by attorneys representing the arrested men, who were released while awaiting court appearances.
The bookstore raid, meanwhile, drew attention to a little noticed development that the Maryland General Assembly in 2020 repealed only one of Maryland’s two antiquated sodomy statutes, the one outlawing anal sex. At the request of conservative Republican lawmakers, the General Assembly left in place Maryland’s Unnatural or Perverted Sexual Practice Act, which outlaws oral sex. LGBTQ supportive Maryland House of Delegates Member David Moon (D-Montgomery County) said he plans to introduce a bill in 2022 to repeal that statute.
#7: Loudoun County schools’ trans nondiscrimination policy under fire

The Loudoun County, Va., public school system’s policy of allowing students to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their gender identity came under fire in October after news surfaced that a 15-year-old “gender fluid” boy allegedly sexually assaulted two girls in different high schools.
Law enforcement officials said one of the assaults allegedly occurred on May 28 in the girl’s bathroom at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Va., while the boy was dressed in a skirt. The other assault allegedly occurred on Oct. 6 in a vacant classroom at Broad Run High School, also in Ashburn, after the boy was transferred there while facing charges for the first assault.
“The sexual assault on our daughter and the subsequent sexual assault by the same individual were both predictable and preventable,” the parents of the girl involved in the first alleged assault said in a statement released by their attorney. “Subsequent to the sexual assault on our daughter, Loudoun County Public Schools formalized the policy regarding restroom use that was easily exploitable by a potential sexual assailant,” the parents’ statement says.
The LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Loudoun released its own statement saying sexual assault cases should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identity of the perpetrator. However, the group said allegations that the perpetrator of the two school assaults was transgender or genderfluid had not been verified. “Attempts to shift the blame of this incident to any individual, group, or policy – other than the alleged perpetrator – does a grave disservice to the victims of these crimes and already marginalized youth in our community,” the Equality Loudoun statement says.
#6: Supreme Court upholds Va. trans rights ruling

The U.S. Supreme on June 28 refused to hear an appeal by the Gloucester County, Va., School Board challenging a lower court ruling that transgender former high school student Gavin Grimm had a legal right to use the men’s bathroom at his high school. The high court’s decision not to hear the case leaves in place U.S. district court and U.S. appeals court rulings declaring the school board violated federal law and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by prohibiting Grimm from using the same bathrooms as other boys and forcing him to use separate bathrooms. The ACLU, which represented Grimm in his more than five-year legal battle that continued after his high school graduation, called the development a major victory for the rights of trans students.
Four months after the Supreme Court’s action, the Gloucester School Board agreed to settle the case by paying Grimm $1.3 million to cover attorney’s fees that the ACLU says the school board is responsible for.
#5: Casa Ruby shakeup

Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of D.C.’s LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby, announced in a Facebook live broadcast in October that she had resigned from her executive director’s position. Corado stated in her broadcast that her resignation was in response to an ongoing dispute with the D.C. government that resulted in a decision by the city one week earlier to discontinue an $850,000 annual city grant to fund Casa Ruby’s emergency low barrier shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth and adults.
Corado called the decision by the D.C. Department of Human Services not to renew the grant for fiscal year 2022 an act of retaliation based, in part, on what she says was her refusal to agree to a request by the city agency to move the Casa Ruby shelter to a neighborhood unsafe for trans women and LGBTQ youth. The DHS has declined to disclose its reason for ending the grant, saying only that it has arranged for other LGBTQ supportive organizations to carry out LGBTQ-related homeless services.
Longtime D.C. transgender rights advocate Alexis Blackmon, who had been serving as Casa Ruby’s Government Affairs Director, was named the organization’s interim executive director. Corado said that, following a six-month sabbatical, she plans to organize fundraising efforts to support Casa Ruby’s programs independent of D.C. government funding.
#4: GOP victories in Va. could endanger LGBTQ rights

The close but decisive wins in the November election in Virginia by Republicans Glenn Youngkin as governor, Winsome Sears as lieutenant governor, and Jason Miyares as attorney general and Republicans winning control of the Virginia House of Delegates raises questions about whether the recent sweeping advances in LGBTQ rights in Virginia put in place by the outgoing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly could be in jeopardy.
Youngkin, who defeated Democratic candidate and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAulliffe, expressed opposition to nondiscrimination protections enacted by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly in 2020 for transgender and nonbinary students in the state’s public schools. He has also expressed opposition to same-sex marriage while saying he would not likely take steps to repeal the legal standing of marriage equality.
But of greatest concern among Virginia’s LGBTQ activists is Attorney General-elect Miyares’s voting record on LGBTQ issues in his role as a member of the state’s House of Delegates from the Virginia Beach area since 2016. Since Democrats took control of the legislature in January 2020, Miyares has voted against nearly all of the LGBTQ supportive bills passed during that time, including bills adding LGBTQ people to the state’s anti-discrimination law, adding LGBTQ people to the state’s hate crimes law, banning the use of the so-called LGBTQ panic defense in criminal trials, restricting the use of conversion therapy for minors, and repealing the state’s longstanding but unenforceable statute banning same-sex marriage.
With Democrats retaining control of the Virginia Senate, Republican elected officials hostile to LGBTQ rights cannot — without the unlikely defection of Democratic lawmakers — repeal these and other LGBTQ supportive laws in the state. But activists have expressed concern that, as attorney general, Miyares might be in a position to curtail the enforcement of the LGBTQ supportive laws.
Among the few positive outcomes of the Virginia election, according to LGBTQ activists, was that the three openly LGBTQ members of the House of Delegates, each of whom are Democrats, won re-election, including Danica Roem of Manassas, who is the first openly trans person to be seated in any state legislature in the U.S.
#3: LGBTQ books removed, reinstated in Fairfax schools

The Fairfax County, Va., Public Schools announced in November that it had returned two LGBTQ-themed books to the libraries of the school system’s high schools after temporarily removing the books in response to objections from some parents who claimed they included sexually explicit content inappropriate for students.
The two books, “Lawn Boy,” a novel by author Jonathan Evison, and “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” an autobiography by non-binary author Maia Kobabe, were deemed to be important works of literature suitable to young adults following a thorough review by two school system committees, according to an announcement by Fairfax Public Schools officials. The officials said that although the books include descriptions of sexual acts, they do not constitute pornography and do not promote pedophilia as claimed by some parents and others opposing the books.
The decision to reinstate the books “reaffirms Fairfax Public Schools’ ongoing commitment to provide diverse reading materials that reflect our student population, allowing every child an opportunity to see themselves reflected in literary characters,” a statement by school officials says.
News of the controversy surrounding the two books in the Fairfax County school libraries triggered efforts by conservative groups to ban LGBTQ-themed books in other school districts throughout the country.
#2: D.C. LGBTQ bars and events rebound as COVID restrictions eased

Owners of the city’s gay bars and LGBTQ friendly bars and restaurants joined nightlife businesses across the city in rejoicing over D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement in May that restaurants and bars could resume operations at full capacity and return to pre-pandemic operating hours on May 21.
The mayor’s announcement followed what nightlife businesses said was severe financial hardship caused by the earlier full business shutdowns due to COVID public health restrictions followed by a partial reopening with strict limits of only 25 percent of the normal number of customers inside bars and restaurants and a ban on standing in bars or sitting at bar stools.
The lifting of the bar, restaurant and other nightlife business restrictions in May was followed by the city’s decision to lift all restrictions on indoor and outdoor events on June 11. That cleared the way for D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance to organize several scaled back LGBTQ Pride events, including a June 12 Pride Walk, which began at Dupont Circle and traveled to Freedom Plaza, where a rally was held. The Walk drew widespread attention when U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband joined the walk as it approached Freedom Plaza.

The enthusiasm over the full reopening of LGBTQ nightlife venues, especially the bars, became evident with long lines of patrons waiting to get into some of the bars that were filled to capacity.
#1: Nellie’s hit with protests after Black woman dragged down stairs

A June 13 incident in which a black woman was dragged down a flight of stairs by a security guard during a brawl that broke out at the D.C. gay bar Nellie’s Sports Bar led to a boycott and months of protests against the bar, an investigation into the incident by the city’s liquor board, and charges by some LGBTQ activists that Nellie’s and other D.C. gay bars had racially biased policies and practices.
The action by the security guard was captured on video taken by one of the customers on their phone that went viral on social media, prompting LGBTQ activists and Black Lives Matter organizers to demand that Nellie’s take appropriate action to review its security procedures. Nellie’s issued an apology for the incident the following day and announced it had fired the private security company whose employee, who is Black, dragged college student Keisha Young, 22, down the stairs. Nellie’s also announced it would temporarily close for business to assess what happened and develop plans to reopen as a safer space for all members of the community.
After two months of staging Friday night protests outside Nellie’s from June through most of August, protest leaders announced at a community meeting that they would discontinue the protests but continue to ask the community to boycott Nellie’s.
Nellie’s reopened 35 days after its self-imposed closing. But on Oct. 20, the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, following an investigation into the June 13 incident, approved a compromise agreement with Nellie’s that called for Nellie’s to pay a $5,000 fine and serve a seven-day license suspension for violations that liquor board investigations found had occurred in Nellie’s handling of the fight on its premises that led to Young being dragged down the stairs.
An order issued by the ABC Board said the license suspension would take place from Dec. 20-26 of this year.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
District of Columbia
$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC
Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.
With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.
Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.
The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.
“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”
In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.
“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”
He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.
Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.
“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.
At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.
In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.
“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement
Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development.
So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.
Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports.
District of Columbia
Welcome home: DC LGBTQ Center opens its doors to healing and hope
The 6,671 square foot DC LGBTQ Center will offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need – including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events, and community support groups, all under one roof.

On a sunny spring day in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood, the once empty Holzbeierlein Bakery warehouse now showcases energy, pride, and the sounds of chosen family coming closer together. After years in a less-than-perfect space on 14th Street, the DC LGBTQ community finally has a new home at the DC LGBTQ Center—and Executive Director Kimberley Bush says it’s more than a building. It’s a promise.
That promise, Bush explained to the Washington Blade on April 26—the day of the new LGBTQ Center’s opening—may change depending on who is being uplifted by the DC Center, but at its core remains the same goal: a thriving LGBTQ community in the nation’s capital. The commitment to the DC LGBTQ community is able to grow more connected and stronger, she explained, as more resources, space, and funding become available for the DC Center.
“This is a glorious home,” Bush said, beaming as groups of community members walked in under the giant inflatable rainbow at the Center’s doors. “It’s our new home. Today was a whole day of welcome home. This space has been an amazing endeavor for a long time, one that we’ve always known we’ve needed. This is space that we need for our LGBT siblings in need—and it’s amazing when your intentions match your efforts.”
The DC Center has long worked to “educate, empower, uplift, celebrate, elevate, and connect” the LGBTQ community from its former location at the Reeves Center. But now, in its new space at 1828 Wiltberger St., N.W., these efforts are more visible, accessible, and impactful than ever before.
“This space is a model that is new, that we are creating,” Bush said as groups of DC Center supporters chatted with Etta James’s “At Last” filling the hallways. “There is, I believe, no other LGBTQ+ community center in the country that not only has its own life and supportive services in its building, but is also co-housed with other organizations. A lot of community centers try and do it all, but that’s not what we wanted. We wanted to be able to bring everybody together under one roof, to be able to have that whole life supportive services center like one-stop shopping. We didn’t want to take over anything anyone else did. We don’t want to take away the dollars those organizations have to do what they do for the community. We want us all to be together. So that’s what we are. We’ve been able to now expand into almost 7,000 square feet of space.”

The new DC Center features a variety of functional spaces designed to meet the diverse needs of the LGBTQ community. It includes office space for up to nine additional partner organizations, creating a hub for collaboration and support. Local and integral LGBTQ organizations like SMYAL, Team DC, and HIPS are some of the groups taking advantage of the space.
“People can be spread out,” Bush said about the opportunity for these LGBTQ-specific organizations to have a dedicated office in the Center. “We are on a grander scale, so we have a grander number of individuals that we can positively and effectively take care of. We [as members of the DC LGBTQ Center] can’t provide everything someone needs, but we can be an outpost for other organizations. Because we’ve expanded, we are able to expand the love, kindness, and support we can give our siblings.”
Additional support, Bush explained, is made possible by the intentional design of the new DC Center. Specialized rooms meet critical needs—from an HIV and STI testing room to therapy spaces and a boutique offering professional attire for job interviews. While the DC Center may not provide every service directly, it offers a shared space where partner organizations can step in and support the community—all under one roof.
“Often people are not able to go here, here, and here, to get what those gaps in life are creating,” she said. “To bridge them in one space just gives that person the opportunity to have less on their heart and their mind in regards to what they need to take care of themselves.”
In addition to being able to provide a space for instrumental elements of protecting the safety and well-being of the DC LGBTQ community, the Center also has a food pantry, a boutique with a clothing closet, an ADA-accessible shower, a mailroom to assist those without a permanent address, and a spacious kitchen.
This, she explained, is why this space is so monumental to providing the DC LGBTQ community the resources they need in a succinct and approachable way.

“By bridging those gaps and having as much as we can here means you’re in one space to get your needs met,” she added. “From sexual health needs, in terms of testing, counseling, and what have you, to mental and behavioral health needs. You can get food, you can get clothing, you can shower. You can store some of your things here. That is such an ease off of your mind to where now you can breathe.”
After stepping into the Center’s director role in 2022, Bush said that she often sees her “siblings” within the community make a better life for themselves starting by walking through the front doors. Sometimes the following steps take more time and resources than for others, but regardless of what it takes, Bush emphasized the goal is to alleviate some stress and make tomorrow an approachable reality.
“I have the amazing opportunity to interact with our community members, our siblings, on a regular basis,” she said. “Often I see them when they first walk in our door. Sometimes they walk in unhappy, sometimes devastated, or they walk in not in a good space. When they come in and invite us in to hear their stories, when they want to share what’s going on with them so we can learn how to best care, love, and support them, it’s incredible. We make a POA, a plan of action, outlining how to take care of them and what that’s going to take.”
Walking through the Center, it is hard to not notice the smiles coming from everyone’s faces—from volunteers, board members, community members, and those seeking assistance. The DC Center, with its rainbow murals and shining floors, has become a beacon of hope for many LGBTQ Washingtonian residents in need. For some, Bush explained, that can be as simple as having a space for solace in a city that seems to have no shortage of stressors.
“The space is made for anyone who’s in need, and even if you’re not,” she said. “This is a place for you to come and be peaceful. A place for you to come and have a cup of tea, not to pay a thing, or have to talk to anybody. You can just sit here and have a cup of tea.”
The more she spoke about the space, it became clear that providing a space for LGBTQ people to be is just as important as providing spaces for the services to take place. The DC LGBTQ Center invites people to not only find what they need to make themselves better in a literal sense but also allows them to simply exist. It is rare for a city to provide this kind of refuge from the constant motion that life demands. And that can be life-changing, she says.
“I will say, ‘How are you today? How are you feeling today?’ ‘How are you’ and ‘how are you feeling’ are two different things, but I do want to know how you’re feeling. If you don’t answer me, that’s good. You know? That’s perfect,” Bush said. “This space is built for everyone, especially for trans and non-binary folk, and for our brown and Black folk. It’s a space for those who just need a space to be.”
In a world that often erases or overlooks LGBTQ people, especially trans, non-binary, Black, and brown community members, the simple act of being seen and cared for can be revolutionary. The DC Center aims to be a place for LGBTQ people to be themselves—not to force them to prove anything or lead them to speak, but to truly be themselves. That quiet affirmation of ‘allowing to be’ can plant the seed to a better, more authentic life.

“One thing that I love to hear, and it makes me feel so good, because they say it in a way that’s just like you and I would say it, or anyone would say it, but sometimes they may not have thought they would say it. They would say, ‘See you tomorrow. See you later.’ This is a person who may not have had tomorrow in their mind. Where you and I say that all the time, but for a lot of our people, our siblings, who come to us, that may not be a thing for them. But when they come in our doors, receive the care and the love and the support and kindness, but then they walk out and they say, ‘See you tomorrow,’ and we do see them tomorrow! I can tell you that this response not only drives me to do this work, because this is good work and I’m very fortunate and privileged to be here, but it’s hearing that out of someone’s mouth. That’s it. That’s all I need.”
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