Local
Celebration, resolve as Maryland marriage bill signed
‘We’re going to win’ referendum fight, gay lawmaker predicts
With a crowd of same-sex couples and the eight openly gay and lesbian members of the Maryland General Assembly standing behind him, Gov. Martin O’Malley on March 1 signed the Civil Marriage Protection Act. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
LGBT advocates joined gay and lesbian members of the Maryland General Assembly last week in predicting voters in their state would become the first in the nation to uphold a same-sex marriage bill in a referendum expected to be placed on the ballot in November.
With a crowd of same-sex couples and the eight openly gay and lesbian members of the General Assembly standing behind him, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on March 1 signed the Civil Marriage Protection Act, which calls for legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.
Several hundred supporters celebrated at a reception hosted by O’Malley at the governor’s residence immediately following the signing ceremony at the State House in Annapolis.
“We’re going to win,” declared Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), one of seven out gay or lesbian members of the House of Delegates.
Clippinger, like the others basking in the legislative victory, acknowledged that supporters have a difficult task ahead in going against what most observers predict will be an aggressive and well-funded campaign by opponents to defeat the bill at the polls.
“We’re going to win because people in our community are going to get out, they are going to talk to their co-workers, they’re going to talk to their neighbors, they’re going to talk to everybody they know and tell them why this is so important,” said Clippinger.
Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County), an out lesbian, said supporters across the state were poised and ready to wage an unprecedented campaign to retain the bill.
“It’s a very, very proud moment for all Marylanders to celebrate this day,” she said. “We’re celebrating today and savoring the sweet taste of equality on our lips. And we roll up our sleeves tomorrow, ready to pledge our best effort to defend this win at the ballot box in November.”
Darrell Carrington, former board member of the statewide LGBT advocacy group Equality Maryland, describes himself as a longtime civil rights activist and straight ally on the marriage issue.
“It’s just a remarkable day,” he said at the governor’s reception. “I could not be happier for all of my friends who get to become full citizens in the State of Maryland.”
Asked the prospects of winning a gay marriage referendum fight in Maryland, given that voters in 20 states have passed ballot measures banning same-sex marriage, Carrington said voters’ attitudes on the issue are changing rapidly.
“I believe if you look at the current polling data you see that the tide is changing,” he said. “It is changing dramatically and exponentially. And that’s what’s going to be helping us. So I think Maryland can be the first state to pass this on referendum.”
House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch (D-Anne Arundel County) shares the optimism of supporters like Carrington on the bill’s chance of surviving a referendum.
“I believe that the more people understand about this issue they’ll look at it as an issue of equal rights and civil rights,” Busch told the Blade.
Gov. O’Malley: ‘We are all Americans’
Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D-Prince George’s and Calvert Counties) joined O’Malley in signing the bill before a crowd of hundreds of supporters who packed the lobby of the state capital building in Annapolis.
“We are all Americans. And all of us at end of the day want the same thing for our children. We want them to live in a loving, caring, and committed home that is protected equally under the law,” O’Malley said minutes before signing the bill.
O’Malley made no mention of a voter referendum expected to be placed on the ballot in November calling for killing the bill before it becomes law. But his brief remarks at the bill signing ceremony appeared to reflect the themes that Annapolis observers expect O’Malley to use to defend the bill before voters in the fall.
“For a free and diverse people, for people of many faiths, for a people committed to the principle of religious freedom, the way forward is always found through greater respect for the equal rights of all, for the eminent dignity of all,” O’Malley said.
After signing the bill, O’Malley handed the legislation to Busch and Miller, who placed their signature on the document.
Miller voted against the bill; Busch voted for it.
“The bill is signed,” O’Malley declared, triggering a burst of applause and cheers from the crowd.
Marriage equality supporters prepare for fight
Officials with Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the coalition of LGBT and straight allied groups that coordinated the effort to pass the bill in the legislature said that, while celebrating their legislative victory on March 1, they were gearing up for the referendum fight.
Spokesperson Kevin Nix said the coalition is already raising funds for the referendum through a donation link on its website and would soon be stepping up fundraising efforts. He said he could not discuss details on the organization’s campaign strategy by press time, saying campaign related activities would be announced soon.
Most agreed that O’Malley’s signature on the Civil Marriage Protection Act was the kick-off for what political observers predict will be an acrimonious referendum campaign in which opponents, as they have in other states, will warn that legalizing same-sex marriage would result in the “teaching” of homosexuality in elementary schools.
Brian Brown, president of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, called O’Malley’s signature on the bill a “meaningless” gesture, saying the bill was certain to be defeated in the upcoming referendum.
“The Maryland same-sex marriage legislation is a meaningless, symbolic act,” Brown said in a statement. “The people of Maryland, not politicians, will have the final say on marriage.”
The state Board of Elections on Feb. 29 approved the language for the referendum petition. The next day the elections board issued written confirmation allowing backers of the referendum to begin gathering signatures, according to board spokesperson Dona Duncan.
Same-sex marriage opponents are expected to gather the required number of petition signatures needed to place the referendum on the ballot for the November election.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools updates gender identity regulation following Trump administration threats
District facing federal lawsuit, White House threats over guidelines
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Under pressure from the Trump-Vance administration, Anne Arundel County Public Schools Supt. Mark Bedell announced Wednesday the district had updated a regulation intended to protect transgender students’ right to be called by their chosen name.
The revised language makes clear that district rules on gender identity do not block parents’ rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as the federal government alleged last month, and that a student’s gender identity will not be treated as confidential medical information.
“No policy, guideline, or practice may limit or otherwise interfere with parental rights under FERPA,” Bedell wrote in a Wednesday letter to the community. “This includes any information maintained in education records that relates to gender identity, transgender status, sexual orientation, preferred name, or preferred pronouns.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Man charged with anti-gay assault in D.C. accepts plea offer
Community service offered in exchange for dismissing hate crime charge
A Germantown, Md., man arrested by D.C. police on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation for allegedly assaulting a gay man while using “homophobic slurs” has agreed to an offer by prosecutors to plead guilty to simple assault without the hate crime designation and with the promise of having the charge dismissed if he completes, among other requirements, 48 hours of community service work.
Dean Edmundson, 26, standing beside his attorney, officially accepted the offer of a Deferred Sentencing Agreement at an Aug. 18 status hearing in D.C. Superior Court after Senior Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo explained the details of the agreement and confirmed Edmundson’s decision to waive his right to a trial.
Among other things, the judge said the agreement offered by prosecutors with the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. includes the requirement that he successfully completes 48 hours of community service work, stays away from the victim of the assault, writes a letter of apology to the victim, and does not violate any other laws or get into trouble for the next 12 months.
Puig-Lugo then announced he scheduled a sentencing hearing for Edmundson for Aug. 18, 2027, at which time a determination will made on whether he has fulfilled all the requirements under the agreement and whether the simple assault charge will be dismissed. The judge added that if it is determined that Edmundson did not fulfil the terms of the agreement the charge would remain in place and he could be sentenced to a possible maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Edmundson, who appeared in court wearing a business suit with a dress shirt and tie, was released on his own recognizance following his arrest by D.C. police on Feb. 7, 2026.
Police and court records show he was initially charged by arresting officers with simple assault with a hate crime designation. In a statement announcing the arrest, D.C. police said, “On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and kept walking,” the statement says.
A follow-up arrest affidavit filed by police states that Edmundson followed the victim and called him “bald, ugly, and gay,” and then “pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push.” The affidavit adds, “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay.”
According to the court records, the Office of the U.S. Attorney filed its official charge of simple assault against Edmunson on Feb. 9 without the hate crime designation. The office has not responded to a request by the Washington Blade for its reason for dropping the hate crime designation. The office has also not immediately responded to a follow-up inquiry from the Blade this week asking if prosecutors consulted the victim to obtain the victim’s thoughts about the plea offer.
The Blade, which has a policy of not disclosing the identify of crime victims in cases like this without their consent, could not immediately obtain contact information to reach the victim for comment.
Court records show that Edmundson rejected an earlier plea agreement offer by prosecutors and he was scheduled for a non-jury trial on Aug. 18. The records show his attorney filed a motion earlier this month asking the judge to convert the trial into status hearing on that same day after his client accepted the Deferred Sentencing Agreement offer by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The judge approved the motion without objection from prosecutors.
Virginia
Winsome Earle-Sears ‘Life and Marriage Tour’ to include Northern Va. stops
Voters to consider marriage equality, reproductive rights referenda in November
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has announced her campaign against efforts to enshrine marriage equality and reproductive rights in the state constitution will make several stops in Northern Virginia.
Her “Life and Marriage Tour” will include stops in Manassas, Winchester, and Harrisonburg. Earle-Sears said the “Life and Marriage Tour” will also travel to Virginia Beach, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville, and other cities across Virginia “throughout September and October.”
The announcement did not include specific dates.
“Virginia, you’ve been asking where the Life and Marriage Tour is headed — here’s a look at our current tour locations,” she said on X on Tuesday. “We’ll be traveling across the commonwealth throughout September and October, and we’re still building the journey.”
Current Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, last November defeated Earle-Sears, a Republican, in the race to succeed Republican Glenn Youngkin.
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which defined marriage in Virginia as between a man and a woman.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Youngkin a decade later signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Spanberger signed bills that finalized the marriage equality and reproductive rights referenda’s language.
The referenda will take place on Nov. 3.
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