Maryland
Thousands expected at Pride in the Plaza in Silver Spring
Annual event celebrates love, authenticity, collective liberation
Montgomery County’s annual Pride in the Plaza will take place from 12-8 p.m. on June 29 in Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring. The new theme is “We Will Not Be Silenced. We Will Not Be Erased.”
Live In Your Truth, in partnership with MoCo Pride Center, Inc., Montgomery County Pride Family, and Montgomery County HHS, will organize the event that is expected to draw thousands of attendees and will celebrate love, authenticity, and collective liberation.
“We have two stages, tons of wellness vendors, queer-owned businesses, and enabling partners who are all there, affirming our LGBTQIA+ community members,” Live In Your Truth CEO Phillip Alexander Downie. “And this year it is even larger.”
A multitude of events and activities are set for attendees to participate in, including a drag story hour, face painting, science activities, and community showcases, like The Emmy-nominated “Drag Duels Season 4” finale hosted by Live In Your Truth — a live competition of show-stopping performances, creativity, and queer excellence.
Prominent speakers like Montgomery Council President Kate Stewart, Council Vice President Will Jawando, and Councilmember Evan Glass will also be in attendance at the event.
“Specifically, here in Montgomery County, our elected officials have your back,” Downie said. “The County Council voted unanimously to fund this work two years in a row, and so it’s like our leadership wants you to know that you absolutely belong in these spaces, in our classrooms and in our collective communities and futures.”
There will also be special zones placed throughout the event, like the Family Fun Zone and Pride Cool Down Lounge, where attendees can take a chance to rest with cool air conditioning. There will also be free onsite STI testing, health screenings, and community resource stations.
“If you go through the orgs, you’ll notice that even our sponsors are very mission-oriented, like our main stage sponsor, Gilead, who is always promoting prep and wellness within our LGBTQIA+ communities,” Downie said.
With national federal funding cuts, Downie said these organizations want to show the LGBTQ community that they’re here for them.
“(They’re) trying to prevent disease and outbreak within our communities, and especially focused on saying that Black LGBTQIA+ lives matter, that trans rights are human rights,” Downie said. “And that all of our queer siblings, especially our BIPOC siblings, who are under disproportionate attack right now, especially in trans and gender expansive communities, that they all absolutely matter and that they belong in these spaces and in the fabric of our society.”
Downie said within today’s political climate, it’s “essential” to provide access to resources and community.
“I mean, for some it’s life-saving,” Downie added. “I hope that people feel very seen (and affirmed.) I hope that they walk away knowing that even if there is a national rhetoric that is seeking to silence them, seeking to erase them, seeking to dismantle human rights from our most vulnerable communities, that (they) absolutely belong in our spaces.”
During a tumultuous time with a lot of rhetoric, Downie said it’s important for the LGBTQ community to know people care.
“And I always say this, ‘You have not met all of the people who are going to love you,’ yet you absolutely belong and always love the new truth,” Downie said. “And I really mean that for our community members. There is such a beautiful future ahead for them, where they can find community, love, and support, even amongst all of the crazy chaos that’s taking place. Hopefully, people will find tribes and community members here and just have a fantastic time.”
Maryland
Supreme Court ruling against conversion therapy bans could affect Md. law
Then-Gov. Larry Hogan signed statute in 2018
By PAMELA WOOD, JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV, and MADELEINE O’NEILL | The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ kids in Colorado, a ruling that also could apply to Maryland’s ban on the discredited practice.
An 8-1 high court majority sided with a Christian counselor who argues the law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide whether it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court’s majority, said the law “censors speech based on viewpoint.” The First Amendment, he wrote, “stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland’s legislative caucuses outlined their legislative priorities heading into the final weeks of the 2026 General Assembly during a joint press conference on March 24.
The press conference was titled “We are Maryland,” where a representative for each of the legislative caucuses outlined priorities.
State Del. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) of the LGBTQ+ Caucus opened the press conference with a statement on the unity of Maryland’s caucus.
“Together we can show our state and our community a different world, one where we mutually support one another and through that support uplift every Marylander,” he said.
In a press conference on March 5, the LGBTQ+ Caucus outlined its top legislative priorities. Fair highlighted two of those bills again during the “We are Maryland” press conference.
The first of the two highlighted pieces of legislation was Senate Bill 626 and House Bill 1589.
The bills would simplify the process of updating an individual’s birth certificate and align the Department of Health and DMV systems to reflect those changes. The bill is being led by state Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Anne Arundel and Howard Counties) and state Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s County).
The second piece of legislation is Senate Bill 950 and House Bill 1209, which would update and modernize laws and regulations around so-called conversion therapy. The bills have failed to pass either chamber thus far. They are being led by state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery County) and state Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County).
(The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a Colorado law that bans so-called conversion therapy for minors. Maryland is among the U.S. jurisdictions that prohibit the widely discredited practice for anyone under 18.)
Martinez and Lam have introduced bills in their respective chambers that would expand PrEP access in Maryland. Martinez did not attend the press conference, and Fair did not mention it when he spoke.
State Del. N. Scott Phillips (D-Baltimore County) represented the Black Caucus during the press conference. State Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel County) spoke on behalf of the Women’s Caucus, State Del. Teresa Woorman (D-Montgomery County) represented the Latino Caucus, and State Del. Lily Qi (D-Montgomery County) represented the Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus. State Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery County) represented the Jewish Caucus, and state Del. Sean Stinnett (D-Baltimore County) represented the Muslim Caucus during the press conference.
Solomon ended the press conference by explaining the importance of all the caucuses coming out together.
“We are stronger when we’re together, and many of these issues that we have talked about, again, impact all of us,” said Solomon.
Cameroon
Gay Cameroonian immigrant will be freed from ICE detention — for now
Ludovic Mbock’s homeland criminalizes homosexuality
By ANTONIO PLANAS | An immigration judge on Friday issued a $4,000 bond for a Cameroonian immigrant and regional gaming champion held in federal immigration detention for the past three weeks.
The ruling will allow Ludovic Mbock, of Oxon Hill, to return to Maryland from a Georgia facility this weekend, his family and attorney said.
“Realistically, by tomorrow. Hopefully, by today,” said Mbock’s attorney, Edward Neufville. “We are one step closer to getting Ludovic justice.”
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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