District of Columbia
D.C. bill to study trans deaths faces opposition from LGBTQ advocates
Measure calls for creating Medical Examiner committee to identify trends

In a little-noticed development, D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) introduced a bill in September 2023 calling for creating a special committee within the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine and study trends related to the cause of death of transgender and “gender diverse” people in the District of Columbia.
The bill is called the Transgender and Gender Diverse Mortality and Fatality Review Committee Establishment Act. Among other things, it mandates that the medical examiner’s office through the newly created committee “identify and characterize the scope and nature of transgender and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities, to describe and record any trends, data, or patterns that are observed surrounding transgender and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities.”
In a development that some observers say caught Pinto off guard, officials with two prominent D.C. LGBTQ supportive organizations – the Whitman Walker Institute and the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL – expressed strong opposition to the bill in testimony submitted in April as a follow-up to a Council hearing on the bill conducted by Pinto on March 21.
Among other things, the officials – Benjamin Brooks, Whitman-Walker Institute’s Associate Director of Policy and Education; and Erin Whelan, SMYAL’s executive director, said the committee to be created by the bill to identify trans people who die would be an invasion of their and their families’ privacy. The two said the funds needed to pay for identifying whether someone who dies is transgender should be used instead for other endeavors, including supporting trans people in need, and protecting their rights.
The hearing record for the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, which Pinto chairs and which conducted the hearing, shows that Brooks and Whelan were among four witnesses that testified against the bill. Six witnesses, including officials with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Medical Society of the District of Columbia, testified in support of the bill.
Also testifying in support of the bill with suggested revisions was Vincent Slatt, who serves as chair of the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission Rainbow Caucus.
Jenna Beebe-Aryee, Supervisory Fatality Review Program Manager for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, testified that the bill would be “remarkably challenging” for that office and its partnering city agencies to carry out, including what she said would be a difficult process of identifying whether someone who has died is transgender or gender diverse. But she did not state that her office and the Office of the Mayor outright oppose the bill.
The bill has remained in Pinto’s committee since the time of the hearing, with no indication from Pinto of what her plans are for going forward with the bill, including whether she plans to make revisions and if or when she may plan to bring the bill to the full Council for a vote.
Victoria Casarrubias, Pinto’s communications director, told the Blade last week that Pinto’s office had no immediate comment on Pinto’s plans for the bill.
The 17-page bill, according to its introductory summary page, would also “create a strategic framework for improving transgender and gender-diverse health outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities in the District,” and to “recommend training to improve the identification, investigation, and prevention of transgender and gender-diverse fatalities, and to make publicly available an annual report of its findings, recommendations, and steps taken to evaluate implementation of past recommendations.”
The bill authorizes the D.C. mayor to appoint the members of the newly created medical examiner’s committee and requires that members include representatives of six D.C. government agencies, including the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; the departments of Health; Behavioral Health; Health Care Finance; Human Services; and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
It calls on the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to provide support to other city agencies in developing procedures for identifying transgender people who the agencies have provided services for and who have died.
It also requires the mayor to name as committee members representatives of organizations providing health care and services for the transgender community as well as a social worker specializing in transgender related issues and a college or university representative “conducting research in transgender and gender-diverse mortality trends or fatality prevention.”
Seven other members of the 13-member D.C. Council signed on as co-introducers of the bill. They include Council members Robert White (D-At-Large), Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), Christina Henderson (I-At Large), Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3), Janese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), and Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7).
Spokespersons for Gray and Bonds told the Blade the two Council members continue to support the bill and would consider any revisions that those who have expressed concern about the bill might suggest.
“The establishment of this committee will continue the District’s leading role in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and legislation,” Pinto states in a letter accompanying her introduction of the bill. “The Committee will be the first entity of its kind in the United States,” according to her letter.
Pinto cites in her letter studies and national data showing that deaths of trans people are disproportionately higher due to a variety of causes, including illness compared to cisgender people in the United States. “Trans women in particular are disproportionately vulnerable to the aforementioned risks, as well as to violence and murder, with one in four trans women likely to be victimized by a hate-related crime,” Pinto said in her letter.
“Although data are limited, some studies suggest that transgender people are ‘twice as likely to die as cisgender people’ due to ‘heart disease, lung cancer, HIV-related illness and suicide,’ with trans women being ‘two times as likely to die compared to cis men and ‘three times as likely’ compared to cis women,” Pinto states in her letter.
In their testimony against the bill, Brooks of Whitman Walker and Whalen of SMYAL said the problems they believe the bill will bring about outweigh the benefits that Pinto says it will provide for the trans community.
“It is improper for the District government to be investigating and determining someone’s gender identity,” Brooks said in his testimony. “This would require District agencies to coordinate investigations into deeply personal characteristics of many people,” he said. “This invasion of privacy is a poor use of the government’s time and energy.”
Brooks stated that the city has existing policies and requirements designed to find ways to improve the lives of transgender and gender diverse residents. He pointed to the LGBTQ Health Data Collection Amendment Act of 2018, which requires the Department of Health to produce a comprehensive report on the health and health disparities faced by the D.C. LGBTQ community. According to Brooks, the Department of Health has not released such a report since 2017.
“We strongly recommend that rather than proposing to spend precious time and scarce resources on a novel and invasive committee, the District should put those resources towards fulfilling existing data collection and reporting obligations,” Brooks states in his testimony.
Whelan of SMYAL expressed similar concerns in her testimony. “Transgender and Gender-Diverse (TGD) people do not need yet another violation of their privacy and exposure to more questions and interrogation for them to provide the reasons for the incredible amount of violence and loss the transgender and gender-diverse community faces,” Whelen says in her testimony.
“What we do need are solutions on how to address the underlying causes of anti-transgender violence, in addition to the barriers that prevent transgender and gender-diverse communities from accessing and maintaining safe and stable housing, and accessing affirming mental health resources,” Whelan adds in her testimony. “What we as a community need is diligent action in a positive direction to actually address the lack of resources, services, and violence towards this community.”
Supporters of the bill might point out that it includes strongly worded language calling for keeping personal information about transgender and gender-diverse people who die confidential and calls for criminal penalties for anyone who violates the confidentiality provision by disclosing the information, including whether a deceased person identified as transgender.
Brooks said strong grounds exist for not enacting the bill despite its privacy provision.
“The collection of sensitive information, particularly for decedents who cannot advocate for their own right to privacy, always raises the potential for inappropriate disclosure regardless of potential penalties,” he said. “The threat of criminal prosecution can be a deterrent to the intentional inappropriate sharing of private information; however, it may not stop accidental or inadvertent disclosure,” he said.
Slatt’s testimony calls for six specific suggested revisions in the bill pertaining to ways the newly created medical examiner committee would obtain information about trans people who die, including the suggestion that the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs become involved in identifying trans people who pass away and be given one or more additional staff members to help support its increased responsibilities under the legislation.
“Members of the ANC Rainbow Caucus have discussed this proposed bill and find that it is a remarkable and historic step towards addressing trans and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities,” Slatt says in his testimony.
“At a time when trans and gender-diverse people are under attack by municipalities across the nation, the District of Columbia is setting an example on how to create not just a culture of inclusion, but also a culture of belonging for trans residents,” he stated.
District of Columbia
$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC
Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.
With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.
Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.
The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.
“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”
In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.
“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”
He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.
Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.
“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.
At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.
In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.
“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement
Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development.
So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.
Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports.
District of Columbia
Welcome home: DC LGBTQ Center opens its doors to healing and hope
The 6,671 square foot DC LGBTQ Center will offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need – including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events, and community support groups, all under one roof.

On a sunny spring day in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood, the once empty Holzbeierlein Bakery warehouse now showcases energy, pride, and the sounds of chosen family coming closer together. After years in a less-than-perfect space on 14th Street, the DC LGBTQ community finally has a new home at the DC LGBTQ Center—and Executive Director Kimberley Bush says it’s more than a building. It’s a promise.
That promise, Bush explained to the Washington Blade on April 26—the day of the new LGBTQ Center’s opening—may change depending on who is being uplifted by the DC Center, but at its core remains the same goal: a thriving LGBTQ community in the nation’s capital. The commitment to the DC LGBTQ community is able to grow more connected and stronger, she explained, as more resources, space, and funding become available for the DC Center.
“This is a glorious home,” Bush said, beaming as groups of community members walked in under the giant inflatable rainbow at the Center’s doors. “It’s our new home. Today was a whole day of welcome home. This space has been an amazing endeavor for a long time, one that we’ve always known we’ve needed. This is space that we need for our LGBT siblings in need—and it’s amazing when your intentions match your efforts.”
The DC Center has long worked to “educate, empower, uplift, celebrate, elevate, and connect” the LGBTQ community from its former location at the Reeves Center. But now, in its new space at 1828 Wiltberger St., N.W., these efforts are more visible, accessible, and impactful than ever before.
“This space is a model that is new, that we are creating,” Bush said as groups of DC Center supporters chatted with Etta James’s “At Last” filling the hallways. “There is, I believe, no other LGBTQ+ community center in the country that not only has its own life and supportive services in its building, but is also co-housed with other organizations. A lot of community centers try and do it all, but that’s not what we wanted. We wanted to be able to bring everybody together under one roof, to be able to have that whole life supportive services center like one-stop shopping. We didn’t want to take over anything anyone else did. We don’t want to take away the dollars those organizations have to do what they do for the community. We want us all to be together. So that’s what we are. We’ve been able to now expand into almost 7,000 square feet of space.”

The new DC Center features a variety of functional spaces designed to meet the diverse needs of the LGBTQ community. It includes office space for up to nine additional partner organizations, creating a hub for collaboration and support. Local and integral LGBTQ organizations like SMYAL, Team DC, and HIPS are some of the groups taking advantage of the space.
“People can be spread out,” Bush said about the opportunity for these LGBTQ-specific organizations to have a dedicated office in the Center. “We are on a grander scale, so we have a grander number of individuals that we can positively and effectively take care of. We [as members of the DC LGBTQ Center] can’t provide everything someone needs, but we can be an outpost for other organizations. Because we’ve expanded, we are able to expand the love, kindness, and support we can give our siblings.”
Additional support, Bush explained, is made possible by the intentional design of the new DC Center. Specialized rooms meet critical needs—from an HIV and STI testing room to therapy spaces and a boutique offering professional attire for job interviews. While the DC Center may not provide every service directly, it offers a shared space where partner organizations can step in and support the community—all under one roof.
“Often people are not able to go here, here, and here, to get what those gaps in life are creating,” she said. “To bridge them in one space just gives that person the opportunity to have less on their heart and their mind in regards to what they need to take care of themselves.”
In addition to being able to provide a space for instrumental elements of protecting the safety and well-being of the DC LGBTQ community, the Center also has a food pantry, a boutique with a clothing closet, an ADA-accessible shower, a mailroom to assist those without a permanent address, and a spacious kitchen.
This, she explained, is why this space is so monumental to providing the DC LGBTQ community the resources they need in a succinct and approachable way.

“By bridging those gaps and having as much as we can here means you’re in one space to get your needs met,” she added. “From sexual health needs, in terms of testing, counseling, and what have you, to mental and behavioral health needs. You can get food, you can get clothing, you can shower. You can store some of your things here. That is such an ease off of your mind to where now you can breathe.”
After stepping into the Center’s director role in 2022, Bush said that she often sees her “siblings” within the community make a better life for themselves starting by walking through the front doors. Sometimes the following steps take more time and resources than for others, but regardless of what it takes, Bush emphasized the goal is to alleviate some stress and make tomorrow an approachable reality.
“I have the amazing opportunity to interact with our community members, our siblings, on a regular basis,” she said. “Often I see them when they first walk in our door. Sometimes they walk in unhappy, sometimes devastated, or they walk in not in a good space. When they come in and invite us in to hear their stories, when they want to share what’s going on with them so we can learn how to best care, love, and support them, it’s incredible. We make a POA, a plan of action, outlining how to take care of them and what that’s going to take.”
Walking through the Center, it is hard to not notice the smiles coming from everyone’s faces—from volunteers, board members, community members, and those seeking assistance. The DC Center, with its rainbow murals and shining floors, has become a beacon of hope for many LGBTQ Washingtonian residents in need. For some, Bush explained, that can be as simple as having a space for solace in a city that seems to have no shortage of stressors.
“The space is made for anyone who’s in need, and even if you’re not,” she said. “This is a place for you to come and be peaceful. A place for you to come and have a cup of tea, not to pay a thing, or have to talk to anybody. You can just sit here and have a cup of tea.”
The more she spoke about the space, it became clear that providing a space for LGBTQ people to be is just as important as providing spaces for the services to take place. The DC LGBTQ Center invites people to not only find what they need to make themselves better in a literal sense but also allows them to simply exist. It is rare for a city to provide this kind of refuge from the constant motion that life demands. And that can be life-changing, she says.
“I will say, ‘How are you today? How are you feeling today?’ ‘How are you’ and ‘how are you feeling’ are two different things, but I do want to know how you’re feeling. If you don’t answer me, that’s good. You know? That’s perfect,” Bush said. “This space is built for everyone, especially for trans and non-binary folk, and for our brown and Black folk. It’s a space for those who just need a space to be.”
In a world that often erases or overlooks LGBTQ people, especially trans, non-binary, Black, and brown community members, the simple act of being seen and cared for can be revolutionary. The DC Center aims to be a place for LGBTQ people to be themselves—not to force them to prove anything or lead them to speak, but to truly be themselves. That quiet affirmation of ‘allowing to be’ can plant the seed to a better, more authentic life.

“One thing that I love to hear, and it makes me feel so good, because they say it in a way that’s just like you and I would say it, or anyone would say it, but sometimes they may not have thought they would say it. They would say, ‘See you tomorrow. See you later.’ This is a person who may not have had tomorrow in their mind. Where you and I say that all the time, but for a lot of our people, our siblings, who come to us, that may not be a thing for them. But when they come in our doors, receive the care and the love and the support and kindness, but then they walk out and they say, ‘See you tomorrow,’ and we do see them tomorrow! I can tell you that this response not only drives me to do this work, because this is good work and I’m very fortunate and privileged to be here, but it’s hearing that out of someone’s mouth. That’s it. That’s all I need.”
District of Columbia
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time
Attorneys say former Casa Ruby director has ‘significant medical issues’

A federal judge on April 8 approved a request by defense attorneys to postpone the sentencing of Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of the now closed D.C. LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby on a charge of wire fraud, from April 29 to July 29.
Court records show that Judge Trevor N. McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved a motion filed by Corado’s two defense attorneys on that same day calling for the sentencing postponement on grounds of health issues.
“Ms. Corado has significant medical issues,” the April 8 motion states. “She has an important medical appointment related to one of her diagnoses scheduled in June 2025 and will need time to recover from that appointment,” it says.
The motion gives no further details on Colorado’s medical issues. A.J. Kramer, director of the D.C. Office of the Federal Public Defender, whose attorneys are representing Corado, said the office has a policy of never disclosing specific medical related information regarding its clients.
Court records show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. did not object to the defense motion seeking the third sentencing postponement.
The records show that an earlier postponement of the sentencing, from March 28 to April 29, was initiated by the judge due to a scheduling conflict. The first postponement from Jan. 10 to March 28 came at the request of Corado’s attorneys, court records show.
Corado pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to a single charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors. The charge to which she pleaded guilty says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 “in taxpayer backed emergency COVID relief funds to private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,” according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Prosecutors have said funds that Corado allegedly diverted for her own use were intended to be used by Casa Ruby in support of its various programs, including housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth and support for LGBTQ immigrants.
The U.S. Attorney’s statement also notes that in 2022, when “financial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public,” Corado sold her home in Prince George’s County, Md. and “fled to El Salvador.” It was at that time that Casa Ruby ceased its operations.
Court records show that FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. At the request of her attorney and against the wishes of prosecutors, another judge at that time agreed to release Corado into custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order.
The release order came seven days after Corado had been held in jail at the time of her arrest by the FBI.
Under the federal wire fraud law Corado could be sentenced to a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s statement. However, court observers have said that due to Corado’s decision to waive her right to a trial and plead guilty, prosecutors will likely ask the judge to hand down a lesser sentence than the maximum sentence.
The statement by prosecutors points out that Corado’s decision to plead guilty to the one charge came after she had been charged in a criminal complaint filed on March 1, 2024, with bank fraud, wire fraud, laundering of monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and failure to file a report of foreign bank accounts.
All those charges except for the wire fraud charge were dropped at the time of her guilty plea.
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