Maryland
Heather Mizeur: Andy Harris a ‘traitor’ for attending pre-Jan. 6 meeting
Former delegate challenging Republican congressman in 1st Congressional District
Heather Mizeur on Wednesday called U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) a “traitor” after the Jan. 6 committee disclosed he attended a meeting with former President Donald Trump that focused on how he could stay in office after losing the 2020 presidential election.
“I was completely flabbergasted,” Mizeur told the Washington Blade during a telephone interview. “It should surprise us, and yet what we know from Andy Harris it wasn’t so surprising after all.”
“This proved that he wasn’t just one of 147 that voted against democracy on Jan. 6, he was one of 10 in the room with the Trump administration in the White House plotting the overthrow of the peaceful transfer of power,” she added, referring to the Dec. 21, 2020, meeting at the White House that Harris and other Republican members of Congress attended. “He’s a traitor to our nation. Andy Harris has betrayed his oath of office, and I believe he’s unfit to serve.”
Mizeur was at an early voting center in Edgewood in Harford County on Tuesday when the committee disclosed Harris participated in the White House meeting with Trump. Mizeur later in the day held an event in Bel Air.
“It was the number one thing everyone wanted to talk about,” she said. “It has just ignited a renewed passion for getting rid of this horrible, lousy congressman that has not just failed at doing his job.”
Harris’ spokesperson on Thursday did not respond to the Blade’s request for comment.
Victory Fund, LPAC have endorsed Mizeur
Mizeur served on the Takoma Park City Council before she served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2007-2015. Mizeur ran for governor in 2014.
Mizeur, who now lives on the Eastern Shore with her wife, announced her campaign against Harris in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District less than a month after the Jan. 6 insurrection. Mizeur would be the first openly lesbian member of Congress from Maryland if she defeats Harris in November.
“I’m the patriot and the woman who’s going to hold him accountable and defeat him in November,” Mizeur told the Blade.
Harris has represented the 1st Congressional District — which currently encompasses the entire Eastern Shore and portions of Baltimore, Carroll and Harford Counties — since 2011. Mizeur is running against David Harden in the Democratic primary that will take place on July 19.
The Cook Political Report currently ranks the district as R +11.
Campaign finance reports indicate Mizeur raised $1,954,881.08 from Jan. 1, 2021, through June 29 compared to the $1,493,411.83 that Harris raised during the same period. Campaign finance reports indicate Harris’ as of June 29 had $1,849,850.56 on hand, compared to Mizeur’s $1,103,317.43.
Salisbury Mayor Jake Day, Havre de Grace Mayor Bill Martin, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, state Del. Lisa Belcastro (D-Baltimore County), House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) are among the elected officials who have endorsed Mizeur. The Victory Fund, LPAC, Emily’s List, the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, SEIU and other groups have also backed her campaign.
“Money is energy, and people are putting their energy behind this race,” said Mizeur. “There’s a grassroots urgency to this campaign and excitement. People are equal parts excited to fire Andy Harris and to hire Heather Mizeur.”
Roe decision ‘sent shockwaves everywhere’
Mizeur spoke with the Blade less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
She said the decision “sent shockwaves everywhere.”
“It didn’t matter that they telegraphed that it was potentially happening,” said Mizeur. “It still felt differently when it landed. None of us anticipated there would really be a day where the court would turn over 50 years of settled law and precedent that many of those justices themselves said that they would uphold when they were being questioned in their confirmation hearings.”
Justice Clarence Thomas in his concurring opinion said the Supreme Court should also reconsider the decisions in the Obergefell and Lawrence cases that extended marriage equality to same-sex couples and the right to private, consensual sex. Mizeur said the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling that overturned Roe “has huge implications for the LGBTQ community as well.”
“We’re next in line for those rights to potentially be overturned,” she said.
“Now in Maryland, we’re okay because we have abortion rights enshrined in law here and we’ve passed marriage equality and it was affirmed in a citizen referendum here,” added Mizeur.
Mizeur said she supports the codification of abortion rights in federal law.
“I absolutely refuse to sit back and allow coat hanger and back alley abortions to threaten women’s lives again,” she said. “This is serious stuff, and democracy dies with complacency. And I think that’s what had been happening for a really long time. This has all just been a giant wake up call. For those who believed it didn’t matter whether or not they were involved in the process, that they absolutely have to consistently be engaged involved, voicing their concerns, and voting their values at the ballot box.”
President Joe Biden has said he supports calls to end the filibuster to codify federal abortion rights. Mizeur told the Blade that she too backs such a move.
“It is such a challenge because of the makeup of the Senate right now,” she said. “All we can do is to continue to grab our pitchforks and take to the streets and commit and continue to demand this, but I absolutely am somebody is in support of that.”
Mizeur also spoke about her support of the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights law.
“I would like to think that it has even more energy and momentum behind it now,” she told the Blade. “Because similar to how we’re sitting here, dealing with a post-Roe world, we have to be worried about the LGBTQ community what it means to potentially be in a post Obergefell world and get in front of that and in law protections, not just for marriage equality, but for all the other issues that are encompassed in the Equality Act.”
Maryland
FreeState Justice to lose more than $300K in federal funding
DOJ program funded full-time employees, services for 600 Marylanders this year
FreeState Justice on Monday said it will lose more than $300,000 in federal funding on July 1.
The organization in a press release said the funds from the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Program supported LGBTQ survivors of crime in Maryland. FreeState Justice notes this funding “makes up almost 25 percent of the legal aid organization’s overall budget, and 60 percent of its direct service budget.”
FreeState Justice began to receive funds from the program in 2018.
“FreeState Justice is the only organization providing trauma-informed, culturally relevant legal services to LGBTQ+ Marylanders,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry. “This funding cut is devastating to our community and the clients we serve, and it undermines the promise of equal justice for all.”
Westry noted the funding supported “2.5 full-time employees on our team of seven.” FreeState Justice Legal Director Lauren Pruitt added upwards of 600 people have benefitted from programs this funding supported so far this fiscal year.
“With our help, our clients report escaping violence, gaining housing, accessing documents, and reclaiming their voice,” said Pruitt. “For years, these funds have helped us to support Marylanders who have survived crimes, including about 600 people so far this fiscal year. Our services empower survivors to define and achieve safety, stability, and justice in the ways that matter most to them.”
“We are calling on the community to step up for Maryland’s LGBTQ+ survivors so that we can continue these essential services,” added Westry. “More than ever, we’ll need their support to continue getting our life-saving resources to those who need them most.”
FreeState Justice notes the Trump-Vance administration has cut $50 million “in grants and funding that support organizations that serve victims of crimes.” Westry on Monday in an email to supporters asked for their support to help fill the funding gap.
Rockville hosted its 9th annual Pride celebration on Sunday.
Organizations and sponsors partnered with the city and its Human Rights Commission to bring the event to life in the Rockville Town Center Park at the Square.
“We want our community to know how safe and how protected they are and that we would support our community,” City Clerk Sara Taylor-Ferrell, who is director of council operations, said. “It’s a gathering for families and friendship; it’s just a good event for our community engagement.”
Taylor-Ferrell said the Rockville community feels safe and comfortable at the event, and she hopes the event will continue to grow bigger each year.
“I think this is going to be a great thing that we can say our legacy is with Pride,” she said.
The Rainbow Youth Alliance, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, the Barker Adoption Foundation, Maryland Trans Unity, and other organizations gathered along the Square to spread awareness and celebrate the LGBTQ community.
Shane Henise, program director for the Rainbow Youth Alliance, an LGBTQ support group for teens from 13- to 18-years-old, said he wanted to come out and let people know that the organization is there for the younger LGBTQ community.
“I think this is a really hard time for queer and trans youth generally, and we want them to know they have a safe place to come,” he said.
Henise said Pride is more important this year than ever, especially with the “attacks” on gender-affirming care for youth.
“We want to counteract that immense amount of negativity and messages they’re receiving with positivity,” Henise said. “You are who you are. We love you, we support you.”
Speaking in front of a crowd of around 50 people, with hundreds walking around to stop and listen, Mayor Monique Ashton and other City Council members addressed the crowd and highlighted the importance of Pride.
Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass said Montgomery County always leads with its heart.
“We, the LGBTQ + community, are under threat and under attack by this president, by the Supreme Court, and while we have our challenges, there is no place I’d rather live than here in Montgomery County,” Glass said to the crowd. “We welcome our neighbors, we love them fairly and justly. We choose to love and we choose to be inclusive. That’s what pride is all about.”
With rainbow flags waving in the town square, attendees stopped by information tables, a clothing pop-up shop, face painting stations and a voter registration table.
Performers took to the stage in between speakers, such as local band the Nighthawks, members of the Rockville Musical Theater and a drag queen from drag story hour who read picture books to children in the crowd.
There was a sense of pride and family at the event, according to Cynethia Williams, the Montgomery County chair of Free Mom Hugs.
“There’s a sense of happiness and excitement about our future, even though it’s super scary right now in America,” Williams said. “It’s great to see that so many people are like, ‘They’re not going to take this stuff from us.’”
As a queer and Black woman, Williams said being at Rockville Pride was a revolution itself.
“I’m a revolter from birth, (from) being in this skin, so just being here is a revolt. It’s time for us to get together and fight,” she said. “Specifically for Free Mom Hugs, we want to make sure that our presence is known, that people know that we’re here and that … there’s a group of people that are ready to cheer them on, hug them, give them love.”
Maryland
Annapolis Pride postponed due to weather
Parade and festival will not happen as scheduled, other events to take place
The annual celebration of the Annapolis LGBTQ community has been put on hold due to forecasted severe weather.
The Annapolis Pride parade and festival, both of which were supposed to take place on May 31, have been postponed until a later date.
Annapolis Pride Board Chair Joe Toolan announced the decision this afternoon, citing information given to the Pride board from emergency management agencies and weather forecasting models.
“The safety of our community comes first,” Toolan said. “Based on guidance from the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the 2025 Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival due to the very real threat of severe thunderstorms, lightning, and flooding.
“We are hoping to reschedule for some time this fall,” he added.
The National Weather Service has issued tornado and flood watches for large portions of the Mid-Atlantic area, more specifically in areas of Virginia, D.C., and Maryland — including Anne Arundel County where Annapolis is located.
The tornado watch only lasts until midnight, but the impacts of heavy downpours in the area can already be seen where the parade and festival were set to take place. The festival grounds at Bates Middle School are already experiencing flooding and over-saturation, and a flood watch remains in effect with more rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.
“We are all sad and terribly disappointed that we cannot proceed with the parade and festival on Saturday,” Toolan said. “Hundreds of hours have been spent on planning and coordination, and we were expecting tens of thousands of attendees. But at the end of the day, safety concerns outweigh all other concerns.”
Toolan said the Pride board will announce a rescheduled date as soon as it is confirmed.
Even though the Annapolis Pride parade and festival have been postponed, there are a slew of other planned Pride events that will go on as scheduled:
May 30 – Ladies Night – SOLD OUT
6–10 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis
June 1 – Drag Brunch at Leo – SOLD OUT
10 a.m., Leo Annapolis Restaurant, 212 West St.
June 1 – Ecumenical Pride Worship Service
3 p.m., Eastport United Methodist Church, Annapolis
June 3 – Annapolis Pride Beer Launch
4–7 p.m., Forward Brewing, Annapolis
June 5 – Pride on the Pier
6–9 p.m., Bread and Butter Kitchen, Annapolis
June 6 – Big Gay Dance Party
10 p.m.–close, Tsunami Restaurant, 51 West St., Annapolis
June 7 – Pop-Up Market: Benefiting Annapolis Pride
10 a.m.–3 p.m., Annapolis Town Center
Special discounts @Kendra Scott 6/7–6/8
June 14 – Silent Disco
7–11 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis
June 21 – Teen Dance Party
6–9 p.m., Art Farm, Annapolis
For high school freshmen – juniors
*ticketed event
For more information on the postponement of Annapolis Pride, visit https://annapolispride.org/
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