Virginia
Arlington LGBTQ organization plans transition to Equality NoVa
Longstanding group to officially expand coverage to Alexandria, Fairfax
The Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance, which was founded in 1981 and is the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ organization in Virginia, is officially expanding its mission and activities to the neighboring city of Alexandria and Fairfax County and is changing its name to Equality NoVa.
A statement released last week by AGLA President Daniel L. Hays says the organizationās board of directors voted unanimously to begin operating as āAGLA now known as Equality NoVa,ā with plans to transition in about five months to operating as āEquality NoVa formerly known as AGLA.ā
Hays told the Washington Blade that in about a year, following community engagement events, including a town hall meeting, the sole name of Equality NoVa will likely be adopted. At that time, Hays said, the group will change its longstanding registration with the IRS and the state of Virginia as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to reflect the new name.
āThis decision was not made in haste, but rather in recognition of where LGBTQ+ organizations stand in Northern Virginia,ā according to Haysā statement released on March 25. āSince the organizationās founding in 1981 it has helped to form similar groups in Alexandria and Fairfax County among others,ā the statement continues.
āThe organizations in Alexandria (the Alexandria Gay & Lesbian Community Association) and Fairfax County (Equality Fairfax) over the past decade have ceased to operate due to a number of factors, including the inability to sustain active boards,ā Haysā statement says. āWe have been going as the Arlington-Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Alliance for roughly 7 years to ensure Alexandria has had representation,ā it says.
āThe 2023 board of directors wanted to make sure we are operating as we need to ensure coverage for Fairfax County, too,ā Haysā statement says. āAdditionally, the 2023 board of directors recognized that the name we operate under needed updating to reflect the entirety of the LGBTQ+ community, not just only gays and lesbians. This was the basis for us now operating as Equality NoVa.ā
Hays told the Blade that the boardās plans include retaining the organizationās status as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that continues its longstanding three-part mission: āsafe social activities; community service; and non-partisan political awareness.ā
He points out that under its current status, the group cannot endorse candidates running for public office and must remain as a nonpartisan group. Hays said that although IRS rules for 501(c)(3) organizations allow a limited degree of legislative lobbying, the group long ago decided not to engage in direct lobbying.
āSo, our approach has been to have town halls when issues come up to disseminate information to all of those individuals, including members who are on our mailing list, about the issues that are happening in Richmond or in D.C. on Capitol Hill,ā he told the Blade. āAnd to not do explicit lobbying or policy advocacy, but to go the political awareness route,ā he said, to enable people to āmake their own decision as to whether theyāre going to contact their representative or other decision-makers.ā
Haysā statement says AGLAās immediate past president, TJ Flavell, will continue to be involved through a newly formed Advisory Committee āfocused on organizational sustainability and producing a planning blueprint for long-term success.ā
Virginia
Freddieās to hold āLove Festā Drag Story Hour after bomb threat
Arlington gay bar receives outpouring of support from community
Freddieās Beach Bar and Restaurant, the Arlington, Va. LGBTQ establishment, has announced it is hosting a āLove Festā celebration on Saturday, May 4 that will include a Drag Queen Story Hour brunch in response to a bomb threat that interrupted the first Drag Story Hour event it hosted four weeks earlier.
āHelp us stop the hate,ā a flier announcing the May 4 Love Fest event says. āJoin us for our next story time brunch, dressed in your favorite Rainbow/Hippie outfit,ā the flier says. āCarry your homemade signs of support.ā
Freddie Lutz, Freddieās Beach Bar owner, said a portion of the proceeds of the event will be donated to local LGBTQ charities.
Lutz has reported that separate email messages with a bomb threat were sent to the Freddieās in the Crystal City section of Arlington, the Freddieās Beach Bar in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and to him personally with a threat targeting his and his husbandās house located near the Freddieās in Crystal City.
He said the first threat arrived about an hour before the April 6 Drag Story Hour was scheduled to begin, with drag queen Tara Hoot scheduled to read childrenās stories to what Lutz said was a large turnout of kids with their parents and family members. After asking all patrons to exit the bar into its rear outdoor seating area and parking lot, Arlington police conducted a thorough search of the premises with a bomb sniffing dog and found no trace of a bomb.
All customers, including parents and their children, were invited back inside and the show took place as planned, with drag performer Hoot describing the event as a display of āfun and love and joy.ā
Lutz has said the May 4 Love Fest event, which is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., is intended to show the community and those responsible for bomb threats at many of the past Drag Story Hour events, that these events enjoy strong community support.
āTheyāre trying to scare us and intimidate us, and I just donāt think as a community we can allow that to happen,ā he told WUSA 9 TV News. āIt emboldens me to just carry on,ā he said.
He told the Washington Blade he and his staff are honored that they have received an outpouring of support from community organizations, other nearby businesses, and government officials.
The Arlington County Board, which is the governing body of the county, voted unanimously on April 9 to approve a statement supporting Freddieās Beach Bar and the LGBTQ community in response to the bomb threat incident.
āArlington County and the County board unequivocally support the LGBTQ+ community,ā the statement says. āArlington County Police Departmentās swift response ensured the safety of patrons and staff, and the fortitude of Freddie and drag queen Tara Hoot allowed the show to go on,ā the statement continues.
āWith protests, threats, and violence targeting the LGBTQ+ community ā and drag shows in particular ā on the rise across the country, expressions of hatred and bigotry have absolutely no place in our community, and the Arlington County Board condemns these threats of violence and attempted intimidation of our community,ā it says.
Virginia
Norfolk transgender resource center vandalized
Anti-trans graffiti spraypainted onto Southeastern Transgender Resource Center’s windows
The Norfolk Police Department is investigating the vandalism of a transgender resource center’s building.
Tarena Williams, founder of the Southeastern Transgender Resource Center, told WAVY that someone spraypainted anti-trans graffiti on the windows of her organization’s offices on Sunday or Monday morning. Williams told the Hampton Roads television station that seeing the messages was like “walking into hell.”
āI opened up STRC, even the Lamina House,ā she told WAVY. āI opened up that to get away from those types of words. This is a place you can come to get away from that, but to see that sprayed over the window. Itās kind of like you are walking into hell. ā¦ To be honest, I was like in shock.ā
Authorities are investigating the vandalism.
Virginia
Bomb threat interrupts Drag Story Hour event at Arlington gay bar
Event resumed after police, bomb sniffing dog search of Freddieās Beach Bar
A Drag Story Hour event hosted by the Arlington, Va. gay bar and restaurant Freddieās Beach Bar was interrupted by a bomb threat sent by email on Saturday, April 6, requiring parents and their children attending the event to exit the bar into its rear outdoor seating area and parking lot until police and a bomb sniffing dog searched the premises and found no trace of a bomb.
Freddie Lutz, owner of Freddieās Beach Bar, located in the Crystal City section of South Arlington, said the threatening email from an unidentified sender came during the first time he has hosted a Drag Story Hour event, which includes a drag performer reading childrenās stories to children accompanied by their parents.
āWe had a lot of neighborhood families with kids and babies and one grandmother in there,ā Lutz told the Washington Blade. āIt was a great turnout, and we had to push them all out to the back parking lot,ā he said. āAnd they waited, which I thanked them for, until the coast was clear. And then they came back in.ā
Lutz said that two protesters opposed to the drag event showed up outside Freddieās on Saturday, at the time of the Drag Story Hour event. He said drag performer Tara Hoot, who conducted the Drag Story Hour at Freddieās, told him before the event started that some of her previous Drag Story Hour events have been targeted with bomb threats and protesters.
āSo, we were kind of prepared or I guess you could say psychologically prepared for it,ā Lutz said. āAnd sure enough, we got an email threatening the bar and also me personally at my residence, which was a little unsettling,ā he said, adding that nothing was found at his nearby South Arlington house.
In response to an inquiry from the Blade, Arlington police released a brief statement about the incident.
āAt approximately 11:15 a.m. on April 6, police were dispatched to the report of a bomb threat emailed to a business,ā the statement says. āResponding officers made contact with the occupants, conducted a sweep of the business and found no evidence of criminal activity located at the restaurant during the sweep,ā it says. āThe investigation into the threat is ongoing.ā
Hoot, who has been conducting Drag Story Hour events in the D.C. area for more than a year, said as many as eight of her past events have been targeted by hostile protesters or bomb threats, although no bombs have ever been found at the locations where the events have taken place.
Hoot said like protesters targeting her previous events, the two protesters at the Freddieās event, a man and a woman, cited their religious believes as their reason for opposing the Drag Story Hour event.
āThey were spewing religious hate,ā Hoot told the Blade. āThey were trying to shame parents for bringing their kids.ā
Hoot said she includes in the performances songs of interest to children and reads from childrenās books such as the Very Hungry Caterpillar, a book that talks about bravery and other positive themes. āAnd then I give them bubbles and rainbow ribbons and we all color together,ā she said. āItās just fun and love and joy.ā
Started in San Francisco in 2015 by an organization called Drag Story Hour, the story hour events have taken place across the country in libraires, bookstores, and venues such as restaurants and bars.
āIn spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where everyone can be their authentic selves,ā the organization says on its website.
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