Local
Marriage bill stalled by ‘holdout’ lawmaker
O’Malley reiterates support, lobbies Md. delegates
Maryland House of Delegates member Tiffany Alston (D-Prince George’s County), one of two lawmakers who failed to show up for an expected committee vote Tuesday on a same-sex marriage bill, said she is now ready to vote on the bill, raising hope among supporters that the legislation would be approved by the committee late this week.
But Del. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore City), who joined Alston in boycotting the marriage bill vote as a means of promoting at least two unrelated bills stalled in the legislature, continued to withhold her vote on the marriage measure as of late Wednesday. Her action drew attention to the fragile coalition of lawmakers that LGBT advocates must rely on to enact same-sex marriage in Maryland.
Carter and Alston stunned backers of the Civil Marriage Protection Act on Tuesday morning by staying away from a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee in which a vote on the marriage bill was scheduled to take place, and announced they would not vote on the measure until Democratic leaders pay more attention to other issues they feel are equally important.
Both Carter and Alston are co-sponsors of the marriage bill. And due to the close division of committee members on the bill, their votes are needed to secure the committee’s approval of the bill to enable it to reach the House floor for a final vote.
Carter told the Baltimore Sun that Alston joined her in staying away from what had been expected to be a committee vote in favor of the same-sex marriage bill as a means of gaining “leverage” for other, unrelated issues such as restoring proposed cuts in school funding in their respective districts.
Backers of the Civil Marriage Protection Act have only enough support on the committee to pass the bill by a one-vote margin. Carter noted that it’s still relatively early in the legislative session and other bills, in addition to the marriage bill, should be placed on the fast track.
Meanwhile, Gov. Martin O’Malley reiterated his support on Tuesday for the marriage bill, repeating his commitment to sign it if it reaches his desk.
“The governor has committed to signing the bill,” said O’Malley spokesperson Shaun Adamec. “His personal support is for full equality for same-sex couples as is enjoyed by heterosexual couples. Regardless of the label the General Assembly puts on it, the governor’s objective is to achieve equality.”
Adamec said that O’Malley has been involved in lobbying for the marriage bill and has “made phone calls in support of the bill.” O’Malley has stopped short of saying he supports marriage equality. His lieutenant governor and attorney general have both publicly endorsed full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Del. Joseph Vallario (D-Prince George’s County), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, responded to Carter and Alston’s ’protest’ action by rescheduling the vote on the marriage bill for later in the day on Tuesday, after the committee held a public hearing on as many as 16 other bills.
But at the end of the committee’s session, Carter made it known she was not ready to vote for the bill, even though she said she supports it. Vallario said he would assess the situation on Wednesday to determine when to schedule a vote on the marriage measure.
Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), a member of the committee who is gay, said Wednesday that Vallario tentatively set a committee voting session for Thursday afternoon. However, Clippinger said it was unclear whether the voting session would take place since Carter had yet to say whether she would attend.
Supporters of the marriage bill, which passed in the Maryland Senate last week, initially planned to hold off on a vote in the House until toward the end of the legislative session in April. But they moved up the vote to this week after determining a furious campaign against it by opponents might lead to the erosion of support.
Sen. Richard Madaleno (D-Montgomery County), the bill’s author and lead sponsor in the Senate, joined a spokesperson for the statewide LGBT group Equality Maryland in expressing confidence that the committee would soon approve the bill.
“I just think you see politics going on,” said Madaleno, who is gay. “It’s a high-profile issue and you’ve got some legislators who are supporters of the bill who still say they are supporting the bill who are just trying to bring attention to issues that they care about as well.”
He added, “I remain optimistic that we’re going to have the votes needed to pass it when it gets to the floor. Obviously, the first step is getting it through the committee. And we have the majority of the committee who are co-sponsors.”
Linsey Pecikonis, communications manager for Equality Maryland, said her group also remains confident that the committee will approve the bill.
“None of the delegates that have been supporting the bill in the past – none of them have wavered in their support,” Pecikonis said. “They just want to make sure that they are drawing attention and people are aware of other issues that are going on within the committee.”
Madaleno noted that opponents of the bill would seize on the wrinkle that surfaced in the House Tuesday to advance their claim that support for the bill is eroding.
“I think that just speaks to what we have to do, and that is, do the same thing — pull out all the stops,” he said. “No one should take anyone for granted in this debate. People should be calling their delegates and asking them to vote for the bill.”
Delaware
Delaware guv signs bill to protect children born using assisted reproduction
‘Modernizing laws to better reflect and protect today’s families’
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on June 9 signed SB 250, a bill that helps fill the gaps in the state’s parentage law.
SB 250 amends the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act to broaden the state’s legal framework for surrogacy. Prior to SB 250, some children, particularly those born through assisted reproduction or surrogacy, did not have a clear path to a legally recognized relationship with their parents. This created issues around parental decision-making and children’s access to health insurance.
According to the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Marie Pinkney, SB 250 ensures that every child in the state has a secure legal relationship with their parents. She said the bill modernizes outdated statutes and strengthens protections for children born through assisted reproduction or surrogacy.
These issues are more likely to affect queer families that rely on assisted reproduction methods to have children. Parentage laws are critical to the well-being of children and the ability of parents to care for them without unnecessary legal barriers.
“Today, we celebrate a victory for all children and families in Delaware. By modernizing its laws to better reflect and protect today’s families, Delaware has set an example for states across the country,” said Jordan Wilson, executive director of COLAGE.
COLAGE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering youth in LGBTQ+ families through activism and community.
“We are grateful to the many families and advocates who worked tirelessly to advance this legislation, from the bill’s drafters to the COLAGErs who shared their lived experiences directly with lawmakers,” said Wilson.
“Delaware is strongest when the law respects and protects all families,” said Mark Purpura, board member of Equality Delaware, a statewide organization focused on promoting and ensuring dignity, safety, and equality for all LGBTQ+ Delawareans.
The bill’s sponsors and co-sponsors include Sen. Pinkney, Rep. Krista Griffith, Sens. Russ Huxtable, Raymond Seigfried, and David Sokola; and Reps. Alonna Berry, Mara Gorman, Kerri Harris, Eric Morrison, DeShanna Neal, Sophie Phillips, and Cyndie Romer.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth’s ‘Poodle Beach’ to be honored with historical marker
Delaware Public Archives to hold ceremony June 27
The Delaware Public Archives is set to unveil a new State of Delaware Historical Marker recognizing Rehoboth’s Poodle Beach Saturday, June 27, at 9 a.m. The unveiling will take place at the corner of Prospect Street and the South Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
The unveiling ceremony is free and open to the public and will include remarks from members of the community, government officials, and representatives from the Delaware Public Archives.
Located at the southern end of the boardwalk near Queen Street, Poodle Beach is one of the most famous sections of Rehoboth Beach, having served as a gathering place for the LGBTQ community for decades.
The Delaware Public Archives said that, “The marker recognizes the site’s longstanding role in the social and cultural history of both Rehoboth Beach and the State of Delaware.”
The petition to have Poodle Beach recognized with a historical marker was started by a group of Rehoboth Beach residents in June 2020 and was officially approved in December 2020.
Although the origins of where Poodle Beach got its name are unknown, its history can be traced back to du Pont heiress and well-known lesbian Louisa Carpenter. Carpenter and her LGBTQ group of friends would travel to ‘Carpenter Beach’ toward Dewey Beach in the19 30s and ‘40s.
Over time, the beach grew in popularity and began to be used predominantly by gay men in the following decades. It wasn’t until the ‘80s when the beach spread back toward the boardwalk as people stopped making the journey to Carpenter beach.
Poodle Beach was initially called “Lazy Gay Beach” because gay men got tired of walking so far from the boardwalk to get to Carpenter Beach.
There are multiple theories that explain how the name ‘Poodle Beach’ came to be. One of the most popular is the ‘Two cousin theory’ where it is rumored that a pair of cousins would drive up from Maryland and bring their poodle dogs onto the beach.
Poodle was also the site of the popular Labor Day weekend drag volleyball games that were started in 1988 and ended with COVID in 2020.
District of Columbia
McDuffie concedes to Lewis George in D.C.’s mayoral primary
Democratic Socialist presumed winner while official vote count continues
D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) emerged as the presumed winner in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary for D.C. mayor as her lead opponent, former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) conceded the race Thursday, June 18.
Both Lewis George and McDuffie have strong records of support for the for the LGBTQ community, and local LGBTQ rights activists appeared divided in their support between the two mayoral candidates.
“Earlier this morning, I called Councilmember Janeese Lewis Geroge to congratulate her on her victory and wish her success as she prepares for the general election,” McDuffie said in a statement. “The campaign may be over, but the work of building a safer, more affordable, more prosperous city continues,” he said
It its most recent release of the official first-choice vote count at 1:54 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, the D.C. Board of Elections reported Lewis George had 55,214 votes or 52.87 percent of the vote. McDuffie had 38,033 votes, or 36.42 percent.
Each of the five other Democratic mayoral candidates had less than 4 percent of the vote, including Rini Sampath, who self-identifies as queer, who had 3.093 votes or 3.02 percent.
With about 75 percent of D.C. voters registered a Democrats, Lewis George’s status as the apparent Democratic nominee makes here the odds-on favorite to win the general election in November. Board of Elections records show that no Republican candidate ran for mayor in the D.C. Republican primary on June 16 and one Statehood Green Party candidate — Robert G. Gross — ran unopposed. The latest vote count shows he received 312 votes from registered Statehood Green Party members.
With Lewis George running as a democratic socialist and left leaning “progressive” candidate and McDuffie running as a more moderate Democrat on a wide range of issues, LGBTQ activists, like voters in general, appear to have backed either of the two on non-LGBTQ issues since both are strongly supportive of the LGBTQ community, including transgender-related issues.
Lewis George received the endorsement of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.s largest local LGBTQ political group.
D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large), who supported Lewis Geroge for mayor, emerged as the apparent winner in the race for D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. He received 62.9 percent of the vote in a five-candidate race. His closest opponent, D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), who conceded the race to White, received 21.52 percent of the vote. White and Pinto have been longtime supporters of the LGBTQ community.
In other races, D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, received 76.51 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race, making him the clearcut winner in the primary.
In the Ward 1 D.C. Council race, where five LGBTQ supportive candidates were competing for the seat being vacated by incumbent Brianne Nadeau, who is not running for re-election, community activist Aparna Raj, who identifies as bisexual, has emerged as the apparent winner with 46.91 percent of the vote. Her closest opponent, gay candidate and LGBTQ rights advocate Miguel Trindade Deramo, had 20.63 percent.
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) and Councilmember Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3) ran unopposed for re-election in the primary and emerged as winners. Also emerging as apparent primary winners were Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), with 74.4 percenter of the vote, and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, with 90.4 percent.
In the At-Large D.C. Council race where nine Democrats were competing for the seat being vacated by incumbent Anita Bonds, who is retiring, local pharmacist and community activist Oye Owolewa, who was endorsed by Capital Stonewall Democrats, was leading with 33.89 percent
In the special election to fill the other At-Large Council eat that under the city’s Home Rule Charter must go to a non-Democrat, former Councilmember Elissa Silverman was leading with 54.87 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race. Incumbent Doni Crawford, who was temporarily appointed to the seat, was in second place with 24.09 percent.
At least 14 known LGBTQ candidates were among several dozen candidates competing for seats on the D.C. Democratic State Committee in the June 16 primary.
Longtime local gay Democratic activist and Ward 8 community leader Philip Pannell emerged as the apparent winner in the race for D.C. Democratic National Committeeman, one of the two highest-level State Committee positions, along with the National Committeewoman post. Pannell received 40,073 votes or 49.32 percent of the vote, according to the latest vote count.
Coming in second place in the National Committeeman race was gay Democratic activist David Meadows, who had 34,875 votes or 42.92 percent. The third candidate in the race, Mike Panetta, had 5,904 votes or 7.27 percent.
The winners couldn’t immediately be determined in the races where most of the other LGBTQ State Committee candidates were running. Two of the presumed winners who had a sufficient number of votes to win prior to the final vote count were trans candidate Vida Rangel for the Ward 1 Democratic Committeewoman seat; and Stevie McCarty for the Ward 2 Democratic Committeeman seat.
Delaware guv signs bill to protect children born using assisted reproduction
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