District of Columbia
Thousands attend March for Our Lives rally in D.C.
Sunday marks six years since the Pulse nightclub massacre
On the night of June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed and 53 were injured in a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The shooting has since remained one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
Six years later, efforts to curb gun violence in America and halt the country’s epidemic of mass shootings have reignited in the wake of more recent mass shootings.
Just before noon on Saturday thousands of people carrying signs and clad in anti-gun-violence clothing flooded the north lawn of the Washington Monument.
(Washington Blade photo by Josh Alburtus)
One of those in the crowd was Jessica Mahoney, a young activist with ties to a national past littered with gun violence.
“My close family is from Sandy Hook and, as the sign references, I used this sign four years ago,” Mahoney said. “This has been a very personal issue for me since 2012 when I had to spend over an hour wondering if my cousins were alive or not. I just feel like it’s so important that people are out here that haven’t been personally touched by the issue because I just think that shows that there’s a real movement behind what’s going on.”
Mahoney and her fellow protesters in the crowd were some of the hundreds of thousands more protestors who marched in different cities across the country on that day calling on state and federal lawmakers to pass legislation reforming the nation’s gun laws.
The marches, organized in large part by the youth-led gun violence prevention organization March for Our Lives, were triggered by a sustained national outcry for action following the latest mass shootings at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and a Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, N.Y, both in late May. The organization held similar nationwide rallies in 2018 following the Parkland school shooting that led to the group’s inception.
Mahoney described her feelings about having to return to another rally four years later in an effort to address the same issue.
“It’s frustrating and a bit maddening at times to be honest that we still have to do this,” Mahoney said. “But it just seems like there’s more energy every time and so I think that I’m also hopeful about it.”
The issue has been one plaguing Americans in various settings and from various walks of life and has affected those across a spectrum of identities, including the LGBTQ community.
Marking the sixth anniversary of the Pulse shooting in Orlando, the Human Rights Campaign released a statement the day before the March for Our Lives rally.
“Gun violence remains an LGBTQ+ issue, with three-fourths of homicides against transgender people — including nearly eight in 10 homicides of Black trans women — involving a gun,” Interim HRC President Joni Madison said in the statement. “Compounding this tragedy is the fact that in the six years since Pulse, we have been unable to advance meaningful federal gun reform legislation.”
But in an effort to prevent future mass killings like those in Parkland, Uvalde, Buffalo and Orlando, prominent activists have since brought a spotlight to the issue of gun violence in America. Many such activists descended on the grounds of the Washington Monument on Saturday to speak to those gathered and amplify their message.
David Hogg, a survivor of the mass shooting on February 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and a founder and board member of March for Our Lives, spoke to the crowd.
“We need to stop these shooters before they get on campus and stop endangering the lives of our first responders, our students, our teachers because people on Capitol Hill don’t want to do their job and protect us,” Hogg said.
(Washington Blade photo by Josh Alburtus)
Alongside Hogg were a number of other activists and politicians who shared the goal of reducing gun violence in America, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.).
Bush described her own proximity to gun violence in calling for action, sharing with the crowd her past escape from such as she ran from an abusive partner who kept firearms in their home.
“When I turned back for a moment, because, ‘Why isn’t he chasing me?’” Bush said. “I turned back, and I saw him standing still, ‘Why is he standing still?’ Next thing I knew, I heard shots.”
Bush believed the near-death experience to be “completely preventable.”
“Closing the boyfriend loophole could’ve saved me from a near-lethal encounter with gun violence,” Bush said. “A red flag law could’ve saved me from a nearly lethal encounter with gun violence.”
Hogg and others took aim at counterarguments from pro-gun entities that have advocated for mental health support rather than gun reform to solve the problem.
“We also must address the fact that mental health does have a role to play in stopping gun violence, but that racism is not a mental illness,” Hogg said. “Hatred, racism, radicalization, xenophobia are not mental illnesses.”
But even at an event meant to highlight what gatherers felt was a need to curb the nation’s scourge of gun violence, the specter of fear and violence remained ubiquitous.
During a moment of silence for the victims of America’s gun violence, a man toward the front of the crowd began to shout and attempted to breach the event’s main stage. A source close to the stage told the Washington Blade that the man threw a megaphone into the crowd while shouting, “I am God.”
Those assembled feared the worst. Due to the size of the crowd that had assembled, rallygoers across the lawn perceived the disturbance to be an active gun threat. Hundreds dropped flat to the ground while others ran from the stage in an attempt to escape the potential violence.
After organizers and police were able to apprehend the disruptor, rally organizers attempted to reconvene the frightened crowd and push forward.
“Do not run, freeze, do not run,” an organizer said over the sounds of emerging police sirens. “There is no issue here, do not run.”
But the moment of fear clung to many who were present.
Rallygoer Kirsten Hiera witnessed the moment of mass confusion but was unable to flee the scene despite her own fear.
“I was scared but I didn’t want to run away because I’m with someone who’s elderly and I didn’t want to have her be abandoned,” Hiera said. “I felt scared and confused but I didn’t want to abandon my friend.”
As those gathered began to tepidly rise and return to the stage, the organizer proceeded to draw attention back to the focus of the rally, leading a chant exclaiming peace to be a lifestyle.
Exiting the stage toward the end of the rally after the crowd had reconvened, the organizer left them with advice that touched to the core of the movement’s mission — one that, in the wake of tens of thousands of gun deaths in shootings like Orlando, organizers like Hogg have described as not pro-gun or anti-gun, but pro-peace.
“The other thing that I want to say is let’s not give into the hate,” she said. “Let’s not give into the hate. There’s more people who are about love than there is that is about hate.”
District of Columbia
Activists protest outside Hungarian Embassy in DC
Budapest Pride scheduled to take place Saturday, despite ban
More than two dozen activists gathered in front of the Hungarian Embassy in D.C. on Friday to protest the country’s ban on Budapest Pride and other LGBTQ-specific events.
Amnesty International USA Executive Director Paul O’Brien read a letter that Dávid Vig, executive director of Amnesty International Hungary, wrote.
“For 30 years Budapest Pride has been a celebration of hope, courage, and love,” said Vig in the letter that O’Brien read. “Each march through the streets of Budapest has been a powerful testament to the resilience of those who dare to demand equality, but a new law threatens to erase Pride and silence everyone who demands equal rights for LGBTI people.”
“The Hungarian government’s relentless campaign against LGBTI rights represents a worrying trend that can spread normalizing division and hatred,” added Vig. “Thank you for standing with us when we refuse to be intimidated.”
Council for Global Equality Chair Mark Bromley and two of his colleagues — Stephen Leonelli and Keifer Buckingham — also spoke. Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell and Chloe Schwenke, a political appointee in the Obama-Biden administration who worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Planned Parenthood staffers are among those who attended the protest.
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
Hungarian lawmakers in March passed a bill that bans Pride events and allow authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs in April amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
Budapest Pride is scheduled to take place on Saturday, despite the ban. Hundreds of European lawmakers are expected to participate.
“Sending strength to the patriotic Hungarians marching tomorrow to advance human dignity and fundamental rights in a country they love,” said David Pressman, the gay former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, on Friday on social media.
Sending strength to the patriotic Hungarians marching tomorrow to advance human dignity and fundamental rights in a country they love. Szabadság és szerelem. My past remarks on Budapest Pride: https://t.co/y1QhA9QouA
— David Pressman (@AmbPressman) June 27, 2025
District of Columbia
Man sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug deal that killed two DC gay men
Prosecutors asked for 210 month sentence
On Thursday Jevaughn Mark, 33, of D.C., was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for running what prosecutors called a “prolific drug delivery service” that led to the fentanyl overdose deaths of two men in D.C.’s gay community.
The 15-year sentence comes three months after Mark, aka “Ledo,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. As part of the plea deal, Mark accepted responsibility for causing the deaths of Brandon Román and Robert “Robbie” Barletta. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan also ordered five years of supervised release following his prison term.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia argued that Mark knowingly sold fentanyl and was at least partially responsible for the men’s deaths. The office had asked the court for a 210-month sentence.
On Dec. 27, 2023, Román, 38, and Barletta, 28, were found unconscious in their Northwest Washington home after a 911 call brought police and emergency responders to the scene. A police investigation later revealed that Román had purchased what he believed was ketamine from Mark. DEA testing of the remaining drugs found no ketamine — only fentanyl, xylazine, and caffeine.
Friends and family members wore rainbow ribbons in solidarity with Román, a prominent D.C. attorney and LGBTQ rights advocate, and Barletta, a historic preservation expert and home renovation business owner — both of whom were active members of Washington’s gay community.
“There is no good outcome here,” Chutkan said from the bench before issuing the sentence. “These people didn’t deserve to die.”
While noting Mark’s “long record,” Chutkan opted for a sentence shorter than what the government had requested, citing what she believed to be genuine remorse.
“I believe Mr. Mark when he wishes he could take it back,” she said.
Following the sentencing, the Washington Blade spoke with Jeanine Pirro, the recently appointed U.S. Attorney for D.C., who echoed the judge’s compassion, but stood by her office’s push for a longer sentence.
“We had asked for more time,” Pirro said. “He’s a felon in possession, and there’s the fentanyl. But he’s got a prior record. There are various other crimes. This guy’s been operating with impunity.”
“My job is to make sure we recognize both Brandon and Robbie with dignity,” she added. “They are two very special human beings who should not have died — and they died as a result of not only someone else’s criminal behavior, but someone else’s reckless behavior in ignoring what he should not have ignored.”
DEA Special Agent in Charge Ibrar Mian emphasized the broader dangers of the drug trade in a written statement.
“The drug market is characterized by the illegal availability of polydrug mixtures, many of which have lethal amounts of fentanyl,” Mian said. “Criminals like Mr. Mark pose a deadly threat by selling drugs with fentanyl, which users unknowingly consume, often leading to their deaths. Illegal drug distribution affects the very foundations of our families and communities, so every time we take criminals like Mr. Mark off the streets, lives are saved.”
Mian also credited the DEA teams, USAO-DC litigators, and local and state partners for their work in investigating and removing “illegal drugs from this individual who was involved in violent activities.”
Asked whether she had a message for the LGBTQ community — statistically more vulnerable to substance use disorders than the general population — Pirro was direct about her commitment to equal justice.
“The only thing I can say to the LGBT community is that there is a level playing field here,” Pirro said. “Everybody gets the same justice. You have a problem, you have an issue, you come to me. I have a long history of fighting for equal rights for everyone. Everyone deserves dignity, everyone deserves protection, and everyone deserves justice — and you’re gonna get that from me.”
District of Columbia
GLAA issues ratings in Ward 8 D.C. Council special election
Declines to rate ousted Council member Trayon White who’s seeking re-election
GLAA D.C., formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, announced on June 22 its ratings for three of the four candidates running in the city’s July 15 Ward 8 D.C. Council special election, saying each of the three have records of support for the LGBTQ community.
The election was called earlier this year when the Ward 8 seat became vacant after the Council voted unanimously to expel Ward 8 Council member Trayon White (D) following his arrest by the FBI on a federal bribery charge in August 2024.
White, who has denied any wrongdoing and was released while awaiting his trial scheduled for January 2026, is one of the four candidates running in the special election to regain his seat on the Council. Under D.C. law, he can legally run for office and serve again on the Council if he wins up until the time he is convicted of the criminal offense he is charged with.
While not mentioning White by name, in a statement accompanying its candidate ratings GLAA said it has a policy of not rating any candidates expelled or who resign from an elected position for ethics violations, including “malfeasance.”
The three candidates it rated – Sheila Bunn, Mike Austin, and Salim Adofo – are longtime Ward 8 community advocates who have been involved in local government affairs for many years and, according to LGBTQ activists who know them, have been supportive of LGBTQ rights. All three are running as Democrats.
White also has a record of supporting LGBTQ issues while serving on the Council since 2017.
GLAA rates candidates on a scale of -10, the lowest possible rating, to +10, its highest rating. Since it began candidate ratings in the 1970s it has based the ratings mostly on LGBTQ-related issues.
But in recent years, it has shifted gears to base the ratings mostly on non-LGBTQ specific issues, saying those issues — such as housing, healthcare, and a call for decriminalizing sex work — impact the LGBTQ community as well as all D.C. residents.
The following are the GLAA D.C. ratings for the three Ward 8 candidates it rated:
Sheila Bunn – 7.5
Mike Austin – 6.5
Salim Adofo – 4.5
Bunn is a former staff member for D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and has worked for former D.C. Mayor and later D.C. Council member Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7), a longtime strong supporter of the LGBTQ community.
Austin, an attorney, is a former chair of one of the Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, served as chief of staff in the office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, and worked on the staff of former Ward 7 Council member LaRuby May (D).
Adofo has served as a Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner since 2018 and chair of his ANC since 2021. His campaign biographical information shows he has been an advocate for affordable housing, improved health care and lower health costs in Ward 8. He is the only one of the Ward 8 special election candidates on the July 15 ballot to express support for LGBTQ rights on his campaign website.
“At the heart of our platform is a steadfast commitment to uplifting LGBTQ+ communities, ensuring that policy is shaped not just for them, but with them,” a statement on his website says.
As of early this week, White did not have a campaign website. He has won re-election for the Ward 8 Council seat in every election since 2017, including the November 2024 election following his August 2024 arrest.
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, which for many years has endorsed candidates running for public office in D.C., decided not to make an endorsement in the Ward 8 special election, according to the group’s president, Howard Garrett.
“We thought that this is best because this is a special election and in these unfamiliar times, we decided not to take a stand,” Garrett told the Washington Blade. But he said his group partnered with the Ward 8 Democrats organization in holding a candidate forum in which the Ward 8 candidates were asked questions “that related to our community.”
Longtime Ward 8 gay Democratic activist Phil Pannell, who is supporting Adofo, said he strongly feels GLAA’s 4.5 rating for Adofo does not reflect Adofo’s strong support for the LGBTQ community.
Fellow Ward 8 gay Democratic activist David Meadows said he is supporting Bunn, who he says also has a strong record of support for the LGBTQ community.
The Blade earlier this week asked each of the four Ward 8 candidates’ campaigns to provide a statement by the candidates explaining their position on LGBTQ issues. As of the end of the business day on June 24, the candidates had not yet responded. The Blade will report on those responses when they are received.
The GLAA ratings and the group’s statement describing the responses to its questionnaire that each of the three candidates it rated submitted can be accessed here:
The websites of the three candidates who have campaign websites, which provide full details of their positions and background, can be accessed here:
Sheila Bunn
Mike Austin
Salim Adofo
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