District of Columbia
L’Enfant: First statue of gay figure in U.S. Capitol?
Book explores ‘male friendships’ of man who designed D.C.
The unveiling at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 28 of a statue of Pierre L’Enfant, the French American architect and civil engineer credited with designing the city of Washington, D.C., took place just under 20 years after the publication of a little-noticed book speculating that L’Enfant may have been gay.
The book, “Peter Charles L’Enfant: Vision, Honor and Male Friendship in the Early American Republic,” is written by George Washington University history professor Kenneth R. Bowling, who states in the book that L’Enfant had “intense emotional friendships” with at least two prominent male figures in the late 1790s and early 1800s that could have been romantic in nature.
“Even for its time, L’Enfant’s life was unusually male-centric,” Bowling writes, adding, “readers may wonder if any of L’Enfant’s relationships with men had a sexual expression.” Bowling points out that while the terms “homosexual” and “heterosexual” didn’t exist until the late 19th century, “sexual activity among people of the same gender, and awareness of it, did.”
But Bowling states in his book that because human sexuality during L’Enfant’s lifetime had not acquired the cultural emphasis that it gained in the 20th century it was not documented in writing in a way on which historians can rely.
“Consequently, we will probably never have smoking-gun proof as to whether any of L’Enfant’s relationships with men had a sexual component,” Bowling writes. “And if they did, that fact in no way disputes the claim that while he was living with Richard Soderstrom in 1797, L’Enfant fathered a child named Mary, mother unknown.”
Bowling was referring to L’Enfant’s longtime and often contentious friendship and business relationship with Richard Soderstrom, the Swedish Consul General to the newly formed United States in the late 1790s and early 1800s.
According to Bowling’s book, Soderstrom filed and won what today would be considered a lawsuit against L’Enfant requiring L’Enfant to reimburse Soderstrom a large sum of money for “rent” and operating expenses for the large house that Soderstrom owned and in which L’Enfant lived with Soderstrom for many years before L’Enfant moved out. Bowling states in his book that L’Enfant, who became embittered over the legal action, argued that Soderstrom never before indicated L’Enfant had to pay for living in the house.
A Nov. 8, 2002, press release issued by George Washington University announcing a talk that Bowling was scheduled to give on campus about his then newly published book about L’Enfant, describes Soderstrom’s legal action against L’Enfant as a “palimony” suit. The book itself makes no mention of the word “palimony,” but it suggests that the bitter falling out between L’Enfant and Soderstrom could have been based on emotions beyond just a business relationship.
The L’Enfant statue unveiling ceremony at the Capitol on Feb. 28, meanwhile, was a celebration of L’Enfant’s widely recognized contribution to the design of the nation’s capital city and of D.C.’s right to place the second of two statues in the Capitol just like each of the 50 states.
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who arranged for the statue to be installed at the Capitol, said she and other D.C. officials consider the placement of the statue as a symbolic further step in pushing for D.C. to become the nation’s 51st state. D.C.’s first statue installed in the Capitol in 2013 is of African-American abolitionist Frederick Douglas.
Among those joining Norton in the L’Enfant statue unveiling ceremony were Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.).
District of Columbia
Norton reintroduces bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ jurors in D.C. Superior Court
Congresswoman notes Congress controls local court system
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.
District of Columbia
Juvenile arrested for anti-gay assault in D.C.
Police say suspect targeted victim in house with Pride flags
D.C. police announced on June 16 that they have arrested a 13-year-old juvenile male on a charge of Assault With Significant Bodily Injury for allegedly throwing a rock through the window of a house in Northeast D.C. and “striking the victim in the face.”
In a statement announcing the arrest, police said the incident took place on Friday, June 6, and “LGBTQ+ flags were displayed at the front of the home.”
A separate D.C. police incident report obtained by the Washington Blade states, “Victim 1 reports he was sitting in his living room at the listed location watching television when a rock came through the front window and struck him about his left eye. Victim 1 suffered a laceration under his left eye.”
The report adds, “Victim 1 states he observed Suspect 1 running away.”
According to the June 16 statement issued by police, “On Sunday, June 15, 2025, officers located the suspect and placed him under arrest. [A] 13-year-old juvenile male of Northeast D.C., was charged with Assault With Significant Bodily Injury (Hate/Bias).”
The statement says the house where the incident occurred is located on the 400 block of 20th Street, N.E.
Similar to statements D.C. police have issued regarding LGBTQ bias-related cases in the past, the statement announcing this case says that while the case is being investigated as being potentially motivated by hate or bias, that designation could be changed at any time during the investigation.
It adds that a hate crime designation by D.C. police may not be prosecuted as a hate crime by prosecutors. Under D.C. law, juvenile cases are prosecuted by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General.
Since court records for cases involving juveniles are sealed from public access, the Blade could not immediately determine whether prosecutors designated the case as a hate crime.
It also could not immediately be determined if the juvenile charged in the case was being held in detention while awaiting trial at juvenile court or whether he was released to a parent or guardian and whether a judge set any conditions for release.
The police statement concludes by saying that the department’s Special Liaison Branch, which includes the LGBT Liaison Unit, is assisting with the investigation.
District of Columbia
Drive with Pride in D.C.
A new Pride-themed license plate is now available in the District, with proceeds directly benefiting local LGBTQ organizations.
Just in time for Pride month, the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has partnered with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to create a special “Pride Lives Here” license plate.
The plate, which was initially unveiled in February, has a one-time $25 application fee and a $20 annual display fee. Both fees will go directly to the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Affairs Fund.
The MOLGBTQA Fund provides $1,000,000 annually to 25,000 residents through its grant program, funding a slew of LGBTQ organizations in the DMV area — including Capital Pride Alliance, Whitman-Walker, the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Community, and the Washington Blade Foundation.
The license plate features an inclusive rainbow flag wrapping around the license numbers, with silver stars in the background — a tribute to both D.C.’s robust queer community and the resilience the LGBTQ community has shown.
The “Pride Lives Here” plate is one of only 13 specialty plates offered in the District, and the only one whose fees go directly to the LGBTQ community.
To apply for a Pride plate, visit the DC DMV’s website at https://dmv.dc.gov/
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