Local
Pastor who supported Md. marriage referendum speaks out
Rev. Delman Coates appeared in pro-Question 6 ad
Rev. Delman Coates (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Rev. Delman Coates, senior pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md., in 2011 began to notice more same-sex couples were joining his 8,000 member congregation in Prince George’s County.
He scheduled a meeting with a lesbian couple from D.C. who had just moved to Maryland, but they cancelled because one of the women had become sick. They eventually sat down with Coates and revealed one of them did not have health insurance because she and her daughter could not get added to the working partner’s policy.
“It just seemed unfair in our society that some would have rights and benefits that others didn’t have,” Coates told the Washington Blade during a Feb. 15 interview. “I reached a point where I felt like gays and lesbians shouldn’t have to wait for people of faith to debate certain passages of the Bible to determine whether they are tested equally under the law.”
Coates emerged as one of Maryland’s most prominent marriage equality supporters after testifying last February in support of a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to legally marry in the state.
He appeared in a television ad in support of the marriage law that Gov. Martin O’Malley signed last March ahead of the Nov. 6 referendum on it. Coates also joined Revs. Al Sharpton, S. Todd Yeary of Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore, Christine Wiley of Covenant Baptist Church in D.C. and other prominent black clergy who urged Marylanders to vote for the law during a September press conference at the National Press Club in the nation’s capital.
“I thought it was important for me to take a stand,” Coates said.
‘It was important to raise my voice’
Coates told the Blade it was important for him to “really change the narrative” about where “all black megachurch pastors” stand on gay rights.
“I didn’t want my silence to be interpreted as consent,” Coates said. “I just thought it was important for me to raise my voice on this issue, to really shift the narrative around where the black church is on gay rights.”
Polls in the months leading up to the referendum indicated slightly more than half of black Marylanders backed the same-sex marriage law. An Anzalone Liszt Grove Research poll the Respect for Marriage Coalition released on Tuesday found 51 percent of black respondents support nuptials for gays and lesbians, versus 41 percent who oppose it.
Question 6 passed in predominantly black Baltimore City by a 57-43 percent margin. It lost in Prince George’s County by less than 4,000 votes.
Coates said members of his congregation were “overwhelmingly supportive” of his same-sex marriage advocacy, even though they first found out about it in the Washington Post and New York Times.
He noted roughly 1,000 people joined the church in 2012, which he described as the best year in its history. Fewer than 10 people left the congregation over his support of the issue.
“The people in the pews understood it,” Coates said. “They understood that the foundation of this country is built upon liberty and justice for all.”
Marriage opponents target Coates
Bishop Angel Nuñez of Bilingual Christian Church in Baltimore, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and others who oppose nuptials for gays and lesbians frequently questioned whether the same-sex marriage law protects religious freedom in the weeks leading up to the referendum. Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville was among those who specifically criticized Coates and Rev. Donté Hickman of Southern Baptist Church in Baltimore for supporting the law.
“We wanted to make sure the legislation beefed up language that protected individual clergy and churches that did not affirm, acknowledge or perform same-sex marriages if it was against their religious beliefs and practices,” Coates said in response to the aforementioned criticisms. “I found this response to be a distraction, a red herring from the real issue.”
Coates and Hickman also joined same-sex marriage opponents who criticized the suspension of a senior Gallaudet University administrator who signed the petition that prompted the referendum on the law that allowed gays and lesbians to tie the knot.
“I affirm people’s right to have a different personal, theological or political view,” Coates said. “I have never forced my view on anyone.”
Tide is ‘shifting very quickly’
Coates spoke to the Blade a day after the Illinois Senate approved a bill that would allow gays and lesbians to marry in the state.
A same-sex marriage measure passed by a significant margin last month in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Lawmakers in Delaware, Minnesota and New Jersey are expected to consider the issue in the coming weeks and months.
Coates said one of the things he thinks surprised observers is the fact the referendum passed in a state where 30 percent of the voters are black. He further noted the religious community remains “strong” in Maryland.
“There’s this presupposition that people of faith and African-American people of faith are, in some way, narrow minded and dogmatic and anti-intellectual,” Coates said. “What we’ve seen in Maryland is we should give the electorate the benefit of the doubt.”
He added he feels more pastors and other people of faith with whom he speaks increasingly understand “what’s at stake.”
“The tide is shifting very quickly,” Coates said. “People understand if we’re going to become a more perfect union, we have to be on the side of equal treatment under the law for every person.”
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert
A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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.
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