District of Columbia
Activists hail new documentary on gays in the military after D.C. showing
‘Serving in Secret’ to premier nationally on MSNBC on Nov. 12
About 150 people, including LGBTQ rights advocates, their supporters and friends, turned out Wednesday for a premier D.C. showing of a new documentary film called “Serving In Secret: Love, Country and Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
A production of MSNBC Films and Time Studios, the film chronicles the hardships and discrimination faced by LGBTQ people serving in the U.S. military going back to the early years of the nation’s armed forces up through the passage by Congress of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law and the eventual repeal of that law under the administration of President Barack Obama.
The repeal by Congress of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” cleared the way for the first time in U.S. history for gays, lesbians and bisexuals to serve openly in the military.
The film showing, which was organized by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, took place at the auditorium of the recently opened John Hopkins University Bloomberg Center at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Two of the leading figures in the film’s production, U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Marine Corps fighter pilot Thomas Carpenter, and his nephew, filmmaker Jonathan Baker, who served as producer and director of the film, appeared as guest speakers on stage following the showing of the film.
A discussion with the two, which included questions from the audience, was moderated by Ryan Bos, executive director of D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance.
Moving and sometimes highly emotional on-camera interviews with Carpenter make up a significant part of the film, which focuses on his personal story as a gay man who had to hide his sexual orientation during his distinguished tenure as a military officer.
Carpenter’s story includes his love relationship with fellow military member Courtland Hirschi, which the two had to keep secret, and Hirschi’s discharge from the military after authorities discovered he was gay. Carpenter also tells of his struggle in coping with Hirschi’s discharge and the emotional toll when Hirschi, who he considered his spouse, died of AIDS in the early years of the epidemic in the 1980s.
Others who appear in interviews in the film include former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who served in the military; former Army Secretary Eric Fanning; LGBTQ activist David Mixner, who spoke out against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” when President Bill Clinton first embraced it; and Aubrey Sarvis, former executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which led the lobbying effort for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“Serving In Secret” is scheduled to be shown nationwide on Nov. 12 on MSNBC and on Nov. 13 on Peacock.
Bowser, who attended the film showing, thanked Carpenter, Baker and others involved in the production of the film.
“This is the great team that brought this project to life and made sure that our nation’s LGBTQ+ veterans have their story told,” Bowser said in remarks on stage at the conclusion of the film. “So, I want to thank you for your courage and for sharing your story as well.”
In response to Bos’ question, Carpenter told the audience how he felt in watching what was said to be his first viewing of the final edited version of the film.
“Well, as you can imagine, the making of this film was a double-edge sword in the sense that it brought back a lot of very, very difficult memories for me,” he said. “But at the same time, the good side of its was we were able to accomplish something very significant.”
Carpenter added, “And what I walk away with after seeing this final cut, how in hell they put all that history in 43 minutes is beyond me.” His comment drew laughter and loud applause from the audience.
Baker, who is a twice Emmy-nominated producer and acclaimed filmmaker, thanked the others who played an important role in making the film.
“It’s just been an incredible team effort, including the studio and the network that everybody knows gave us the opportunity to tell the story,” he said. “And to me it’s been profound because I remember growing up with my uncle and I remember loving him dearly as a kid growing up.”
Baker said he was grateful that Carpenter, his uncle, agreed to take part in the film knowing it would bring back difficult memories but at the same time it would include an “inspirational ending,” which included Carpenter playing an important role in joining the nation’s leading LGBTQ rights organizations to successfully obtain the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
District of Columbia
D.C. journalist, video producer Sean Bartel dies at 37
Beloved member of Gay Flag Football League found deceased on hiking trail in Argentina
Sean Christopher Bartel, 37, who began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024, was found deceased on a hiking trail near a glacier in Argentina on or around March 15, according to a report by an Argentine newspaper.
The newspaper Clarín reports no foul play was suspected regarding his death, and other local media reports indicate authorities believe he suffered some sort of accident while on the hiking trail.
The Clarín report says Bartel arrived in Argentina on March 3 and visited Buenos Aires and the city of El Chaltén, which is near Argentina’s Los Glaciares National Park and a glacial lagoon popular with hikers. It says his body was found on the trail leading to the glacier.
“The D.C. Gay Flag Football League is heartbroken to learn of the passing of Sean Bartel, one of the most devoted members this league has ever known,” the organization said in a statement. “The story of DCGFFL could not be told without Sean.”
“He was not only a dedicated teammate and a model league member – he was our storyteller and our champion, honoring the competitive greatness, the radiant humor, and the beautiful bonds that make our community so special,” the statement says.
It adds that for years, Bartel served as “our man behind the camera, he drew our community tighter by portraying us with the skill of a professional and the care of a family member.”
Bartel’s LinkedIn page shows he most recently worked for 12 years as Senior Video Producer for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which is described as North America’s largest labor union.
Matt Spense, a spokesperson for the union, told the Washington Blade that Bartel resigned from his job there in 2024 to pursue other career endeavors, but he didn’t know what he did career wise after that time.
Bartel’s LinkedIn page shows he served as a video producer and account supervisor at the Edelman global communications firm based in D.C. from 2010-2013. Prior to that, he worked as a reporter for Sirius XM Radio, Inc. from 2007 to 2012. It shows that from a little over a year — from 2009 to 2010 — he worked as video producer and account executive for the firm North Ridge Communications, but it doesn’t give the company’s location.
He began his career in journalism, his LinkedIn page shows, as a reporter and news and sports anchor at the WHAS TV station in Louisville, Ky., from January 2005 through January 2008.
It says he received a bachelor’s degree in Sports Marketeing and Management in 1999 from Indiana University in Bloomington and a master’s degree from the School of Media and Public Affairs from D.C.’s George Washington University in 2010.
The Blade couldn’t immediately obtain information about surviving family members or funeral arrangements.
District of Columbia
Bowser appoints first nonbinary person to Cabinet-level position
Peter Stephan named Office of Disability Rights interim director
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bower has named longtime disability rights advocate Peter L. Stephan, who identifies as nonbinary, as interim director of the D.C. Office of Disability Rights.
The local transgender and nonbinary advocacy group Our Trans Capital and the LGBTQ group Capital Stonewall Democrats issued a joint statement calling Stephan’s appointment an historic development as the first-ever appointment of a nonbinary person to a Cabinet-level D.C. government position.
“This milestone appointment recognizes Stephan’s extensive expertise in disability rights advocacy and marks a historic advancement for transgender and nonbinary representation in District government leadership,” the statement says.
The statement notes that Stephan, an attorney, held the position of general counsel at the Office of Disability Rights immediately prior to the mayor’s decision to name him interim director.
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a question from the Washington Blade asking if Bowser plans to name Stephan as the permanent director of the Office of Disability Rights. John Fanning, a spokesperson for D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), said the office’s director position requires confirmation by the Council.
Stephan couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
“At a time when trans and nonbinary people ae under attack across the country, D.C. continues to lead by example,” said Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats. “This appointment reflects what we have always believed that our community is always strongest when every voice is represented in government,” he said.
“This is a historic step forward,” said Vida Rengel, founder of Our Trans Capital. “Interim Director Stephan’s career and accomplishments are a shining example of the positive impact that trans and nonbinary public servants can have on our communities,” according to Rangel.
District of Columbia
Capital Stonewall Democrats set to celebrate 50th anniversary
Mayor Bowser expected to attend March 20 event
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, and local and national Democratic Party officials are expected to join more than 150 LGBTQ advocates and supporters on March 20 for the 50th anniversary celebration of the city’s Capital Stonewall Democrats.
A statement released by the organization says the event is scheduled to be held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery building at 702 8th St., N.W. in D.C.
“The evening will honor the people who built Capital Stonewall Democrats across five decades – activists who fought for rights when the odds were against them, public servants who opened doors and refused to let them close, and a new generation of leaders ready to carry the work forward,” the statement says.
Founded in 1976 as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the organization’s members voted in 2021 to change its name to the Capital Stonewall Democrats.
Among those planning to attend the anniversary event is longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist Paul Kuntzler, 84, who is one of the two co-founders of the then-Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. Kuntzler told the Washington Blade that he and co-founder Richard Maulsby were joined by about a dozen others in the living room of his Southwest D.C. home at the group’s founding meeting in January 1976.
He said that among the reasons for forming a local LGBTQ Democratic group at the time was to arrange for a then “gay” presence at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, at which Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination for U.S. president and later won election as president.
Maulsby, who served as the Stein Club president for its first three years and who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., said he would not be attending the March 20 anniversary event, but he fully supports the organization’s continuing work as an LGBTQ organization associated with the Democratic Party.
Steven McCarty, Capital Stonewall Democrats’ current president, said in the statement that the anniversary celebration will highlight the organization’s work since the time of its founding.
“Capital Stonewall Democrats has been fighting for LGBTQ+ political power in this city for 50 years, electing people, training organizers, holding this community together through some really hard moments,” he said. “And right now, with everything going on, that work has never mattered more. This gala is the first moment of our next chapter, and I want the community to be a part of it.”
The statement says among the special guests attending the event will be Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, who became the first openly gay LGBTQ person of color to win election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.
Other guests of honor, according to the statement, include Mayor Bowser; D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5, the Council’s only gay member; D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large); Earl Fowlkes, founder of the International Federation of Black Prides; Vita Rangel, a transgender woman who serves as Deputy Director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; Rayceen Pendarvis, longtime D.C. LGBTQ civic activist; and Phillip Pannell, longtime D.C. LGBTQ Democratic activist and Ward 8 civic activist.
Information about ticket availability for the Capital Stonewall Democrats anniversary gala can be accessed here: capitalstonewalldemocrats.com/50th
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