District of Columbia
D.C. Council urged to improve ‘weakened’ PrEP insurance bill
AIDS group calls for changes before full vote on Feb. 3
The D.C.-based HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute is calling on the D.C. Council to reverse what it says was the “unfortunate” action by a Council committee to weaken a bill aimed at requiring health insurance companies to cover the costs of HIV prevention or PrEP drugs for D.C. residents at risk for HIV infection.
HIV + HEP Policy Institute Executive Director Carl Schmid points out in a Jan. 30 email message to all 13 D.C. Council members that the Council’s Committee on Health on Dec. 8, 2025, voted to change the PrEP DC Act of 2025, Bill 26-0159, to require insurers to fully cover only one PrEP drug regimen.
Schmid noted the bill as originally written and introduced Feb. 28, 2025, by Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, required insurers to cover all PrEP drugs, including the newest PrEP medication taken by injection once every six months.
Schmid’s message to the Council members was sent on Friday, Jan. 30, just days before the Council was scheduled to vote on the bill on Feb. 3. He contacted the Washington Blade about his concerns about the bill as changed by committee that same day.
Spokespersons for Parker and the Committee on Health and its chairperson, Council member Christina Henderson (I-At-Large) didn’t immediately respond to the Blade’s request for comment on the issue, saying they were looking into the matter and would try to provide a response on Monday, Jan. 2.
In his message to Council members, Schmid also noted that he and other AIDS advocacy groups strongly supported the committee’s decision to incorporate into the bill a separate measure introduced by Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) that would prohibit insurers, including life insurance companies, from denying coverage to people who are on PrEP.
“We appreciate the Committee’s revisions to the bill that incorporates Bill 26-0101, which prohibits discrimination by insurance carriers based on PrEP use,” Schmid said in his statement to all Council members.
“However, the revised PrEP coverage provision would actually reduce PrEP options for D.C. residents that are required by current federal law, limit patient choice, and place D.C. behind states that have enacted HIV prevention policies designed to remain in effect regardless of any federal changes,” Schmid added.
He told the Washington Blade that although these protections are currently provided through coverage standards recommended in the U.S. Affordable Care Act, AIDS advocacy organizations have called for D.C. and states to pass their own legislation requiring insurance coverage of PrEP in the event that the federal policies are weakened or removed by the Trump administration, which has already reduced or ended federal funding for HIV/AIDS-related programs.
“The District of Columbia has always been a leader in the fight against HIV,” Schmid said in a statement to Council members. But in a separate statement he sent to the Blade, Schmid said the positive version of the bill as introduced by Parker and the committee’s incorporation of the Pinto bill were in stark contrast to the “bad side — the bill would only require insurers to cover one PrEP drug.”
He added, “That is far worse than current federal requirements. Obviously, the insurers got to them.”
The Committee on Health’s official report on the bill summarizes testimony in support of the bill by health-related organizations, including Whitman-Walker Health, and two D.C. government officials before the committee at an Oct. 30, 2025, public hearing.
Among them were Clover Barnes, Senior Deputy Director of the D.C. HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD, and TB Administration, and Philip Barlow, Associate Commissioner for the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking.
Although both Barnes and Barlow expressed overall support for the bill, Barlow suggested several changes, one of which could be related to the committee’s change of the bill described by Schmid, according to the committee report.
“First, he recommended changing the language that required PrEP and PEP coverage by insurers to instead require that insurers who already cover PrEP and PEP do not impose cost sharing or coverage more restrictive than other treatments,” the committee report states. “He pointed out that D.C. insurers already cover PrEP and PEP as preventive services, and this language would avoid unintended costs for the District,” the report adds.
PEP refers to Post-Exposure Prophylaxis medication, while PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis medication.
In response to a request from the Blade for comment, Daniel Gleick, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s press secretary, said he would inquire about the issue in the mayor’s office.
Naseema Shafi, Whitman-Walker Health’s CEO, meanwhile, in response to a request by the Blade for comment, released a statement sharing Schmid’s concerns about the current version of the PrEP DC Act of 2025, which the Committee on Health renamed as the PrEP DC Amendment Act of 2025.
“Whitman-Walker Health believes that all residents of the District of Columbia should have access to whatever PrEP method is best for them based on their conversations with their providers,” Shafi said. “We would not want to see limitations on what insurers would cover,” she added. “Those kinds of limitations lead to significantly reduced access and will be a major step backwards, not to mention undermining the critical progress that the Affordable Care Act enabled for HIV prevention,” she said.
The Blade will update this story as soon as additional information is obtained from the D.C. Council members involved with the bill, especially Parker. The Blade will report on whether the full Council makes the changes to the bill requested by Schmid and others before it votes on whether to approve it at its Feb. 3 legislative session.
District of Columbia
Lewis George holds strong lead over McDuffie in D.C. mayor’s race
Gay Council member Parker wins in Ward 5; bi candidate leads in Ward 1
D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) was leading former D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) in the D.C. primary race for mayor late Tuesday night by a margin of 52.79 percent of the vote compared to 36.57 percent for McDuffie with 64 percent of the votes counted, according to information released by the D.C. Board of Elections at 11:55 p.m.
A Board of Elections spokesperson informed the media by email that the board had stopped its vote counting shortly before midnight and would resume its counting Wednesday morning, June 17.
The late-night returns showed Lewis George and McDuffie were far ahead of the other five candidates competing in the Democratic primary for mayor, with candidate Rini Sampath, who self-identifies as queer, receiving 2.93 percent of the vote.
Of the remaining Democratic mayoral candidates, former Council member Vincent Orange received 3.73 percent; businessman Gary Goodweather received 3.0 percent; and civic activists Hope Solomon, 1.09 percent; and Ernest Johnson 0.53 percent.
Election board spokesperson Sarah Graham noted in her email to the media that the initial vote percentages released Tuesday night were counted under the city’s newly implemented ranked choice voting system, which was in place for mayor, D.C. Council, D.C. congressional delegate, and D.C. attorney general. She said the follow-up “round-by-round tabulation results” when voters’ second, third, fourth and possibly fifth choices are counted under the ranked choice system, they are estimated to be released between Sunday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 24.
“The final round-by-round tabulation results will be released on or after June 26, 2026,” she stated. The ranked-choice system does not go into effect if a candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote.
Lewis George and McDuffie have strong records of support on LGBTQ issues, and Goodweather expressed strong support for LGBTQ issues during the campaign. The Capital Stonewall Democrats, the city’s largest LGBTQ political group, endorsed Lewis George for mayor.
Although the election board had yet to declare a winner in the mayor’s race, with 36 percent of the votes cast not yet counted, Lewis George delivered a rousing speech at her election-night event at the Howard Theatre that many of her supporters considered a victory speech. Among those attending the event and expressing the belief that Lewis George was the expected winner was Capital Stonewall Democrats President Stevie McCarty.
“There’s still a lot of votes to count, but I feel very confident and it looks really good,” he said in referring to Lewis George and the LGBTQ community members who supported her campaign.
Like the other races for D.C. Council, the D.C. congressional delegate seat, and D.C. attorney general, most if not all of the candidates had either expressed support for LGBTQ rights or had strong records of support, like McDuffie and Lewis George. LGBTQ activists have said that meant LGBTQ voters would be choosing a candidate based on issues other than LGBTQ rights issues.
In other races, D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, was far ahead of two Democratic challengers, with 76.37 percent of the vote. Challengers Bernita Carmichael and Bridgete French received 15.28 percent and 7.57 percent respectively.
Political observers believe Parker is the strong favorite to win re-election in November against a Republican and a Statehood Green Party candidate.
In the Ward 1 D.C. Council race, where five LGBTQ supportive candidates were competing for the seat being vacated by Democratic incumbent Brianne Nadeau, who is not running for re-election, community activist Aparna Raj, who identifies as bisexual, was leading gay candidate and LGBTQ rights activist Miguel Trindade Deramo by a margin of 46.7 percent to 20.27 percent in a five-candidate race.
The other candidates were Rashida Brown, 17,18 percent; Jackie Reyes Yanes, 9.98 percent; and Terry Lynch, 5.75 percent.
In the race for the D.C. delegate seat to the U.S. House of Representatives, which is being vacated by retiring Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), D.C. Council member Robert White (D-At-Large) was leading in a five-candidate race with 63.16 percent of the vote. His leading opponent, D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) had 21.45 percent of the vote.
The vote count for the other candidates was 7.66 percent for Kinney Zalene; 4.55 percent of Trent Holbrook; and 2.8 percent for Greg Jaczko.
In other D.C. Council races Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) and Council member Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3) were unopposed in the Democratic primary and are considered strong favorites to win re-election in November.
Nine Democrats competed for the At-Large D.C. Council seat being vacated by Council member Anita Bonds (D), who is not seeking re-election. Community activist and local pharmacist Oye Owolewa, who was endorsed by Capital Stonewall Democrats, was leading in the Democratic primary with 33.77 percent of the vote.
The vote count percentage for the other candidates were: Lisa Raymond, 15.22; Kevin Chavous, 13.84; Greg Jackson, 10.95; Candis Nelson, 7.67; Dwight Davis, 6.02; Dyana Forester, 3.72; and Leniqua Jenkins, 3.0.
In the Ward 6 D.C. Council race, Democratic incumbent Charles Allen, a longtime LGBTQ rights supporter who received the Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsement, was far ahead of his two Democratic challengers with 74.43 percent of the vote. Gloria Ann Nauden had 18.68 percent, and Michael Murph had 6.51 percent.
D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, an outspoken supporter of LGBTQ rights who also received the Capital Stonewall Democrats endorsement, had 90.34 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, with his sole opponent J.P. Szymkowicz receiving 9.15 percent.
In the special election to fill the At-Large Council seat that must go to a non-Democrat under the city’s Home Rule Charter, and which was vacated by McDuffie when he decided to run for mayor as a Democrat, former Council member Elissa Silverman was leading with 54.75 percent of the vote. Incumbent Council member Doni Crawford, who was temporarily appointed to the seat, was in second place with 34.81 percent of the vote. A third candidate, Jaque Patterson, had 19.27 percent. All three candidates ran as independents.
In the separate D.C. Republican and D.C. Statehood Green Party primaries held on June 16, all the offices for which a candidate from those two parties were on the ballot ran unopposed. No Republican candidate ran for D.C. mayor in the primary. With a large majority of D.C. voters being registered as Democrats, no Republican or Statehood Green Party candidate has won election to public office in D.C. for at least the past 10 years or longer. No known LGBTQ Republican or Statehood Green Party candidate was on the ballot in the June 16 primary.
District of Columbia
D.C. nude dance club Archibald’s to feature male strippers beginning Pride weekend
Popular downtown venue to debut new lower floor gay ‘underworld’
Archibald’s Gentlemen’s Club, which has offered adult entertainment in the nation’s capital involving nude female dancers since it first opened in 1969 at 1520 K St., N.W., will offer nude male dancers beginning Saturday night, June 20, according to co-owner Thom Naylor.
The female dancers will continue as usual on the upper two floors of Archibald’s three-story building, according to Naylor, who released a flier promoting the opening of the male dancer venue as an event “for Gay Pride.”
He told the Washington Blade he expects a dozen male dancers to perform beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday when D.C.’s LGBTQ Pride Parade will take place earlier in the day.
Following its opening night for the male dancers, Naylor said he plans to continue offering male nude dancers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. The club is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
“I want to have an official Champagne grand opening probably in July,” he said referring to the male dance venue. “This is like a soft opening just to get going and to get everybody acclimated.”
The decision by Archibald’s to offer nude male dance entertainment for an LGBTQ clientele will mark the first time such entertainment will take place in D.C. since March 2020, when the LGBTQ nightclub Ziegfeld’s-Secrets, which featured nude male dancers, was forced to close at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The owner of the building at 1824 Half St., S.W., discontinued the Ziegfeld’s-Secrets lease a short time later to demolish the building and construct a high-rise residential condominium.
Naylor, who identifies as gay, said he has long believed nude male entertainment should be available in D.C. for a gay clientele as well as anyone else interested in that type of entertainment.
“So, we decided to go with three days in the summer and then come September go into a full swing when we’re open five days a week,” he said, referring to the male dancers.
District of Columbia
LGBTQ seniors honored at D.C. Silver Pride event
City officials, activists credit them with playing lead role in movement
About 250 people turned out on Friday, June 12, for D.C.’s annual Silver Pride celebration, which honors and recognizes LGBTQ seniors and their role in advancing LGBTQ rights.
The event was held in a large conference hall in the building of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, which was among the event’s sponsors
According to local event organizer and longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Rayceen Pendarvis, who served as host of the event, the D.C. Department of Aging and Community Living and the D.C.-based Seabury Resources for Aging, a nonprofit group that provides services and support for seniors, were the two lead organizers of this year’s Silver Pride.
In addition to presentations by several speakers, a DJ played music for dancing and two popular local drag performers — Shi-Queeta Lee and Capri Bloomingdale — performed at the event drawing loud applause.
Among the speakers were Japer Bowles, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; Jody Wright, a member of the board of the Capital Pride Alliance, which organizes D.C.’s annual Pride events; Craig McCullough, board chair of Seabury Resources for Aging; Jermaine Dillon, an official with the D.C. Department of Aging and Community Living; and Bianca Ward, an official with the ViiV Healthcare company, which was one of the sponsors of the event.
“It is a joy to be a senior in this community,” Pendarvis told the crowd in opening remarks at the event. “And every part of every Pride movement is built on the backs and the foundations of the elders,” she said.
“We have to have a day when we’re celebrated and we are honored and we are represented in our fullness,” Pendarvis told the Washington Blade. “Because sometimes unfortunately, various Prides forget about our elders. And we have to let them know that we’re here, we’re queer, and we ain’t going anywhere,” Pendarvis said.
“It is my distinct honor and privilege to be here among the elders,” Wright, the Capital Pride board member, told the gathering. “Because what we do at Capital Pride is because of what you’ve done and you continue to do, because we are standing on the shoulders of giants,” he said, in referring to LGBTQ seniors.
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