Local
Mautner Project honors lesbian Md. lawmaker
Maggie McIntosh acknowledged spouse whom she recently married
Maryland state Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City) (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Deb Dubois, chair of the Mautner Project Board of Directors, applauded McIntosh for the role she played in the passage of last November’s referendum on Maryland’s same-sex marriage law — McIntosh announced the results at the downtown Baltimore restaurant where Gov. Martin O’Malley and other Question 6 supporters had gathered.
McIntosh specifically thanked the governor, state Sen. Rich Madaleno (D-Montgomery County,) state Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City,) the Human Rights Campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union and Marylanders who voted for the same-sex marriage referendum.
“On Jan. 1 we became the first state whose electorate added same-sex marriage as a right,” she said. “Now we are among nine states strong.”
McIntosh echoed Dubois who thanked lesbian state Dels. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City) and Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County) who attended the event along with gay D.C. Councilmember David Catania (I-At-Large.) She also thanked her long-time partner Diane Stollenwerk, whom she recently married in a small Quaker ceremony in Baltimore.
“There are some people that think maybe Diane is the woman who has made me a better woman,” she said. “I agree.”
Founded in 1990, the Mautner Project provides an array of health care and other related services and advocacy to lesbian, bisexual and transgender women.
McIntosh noted during her acceptance speech that Stollenwerk went to the emergency room at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis last week — and hospital staff admitted her as her spouse to be “with her through every test and every decision and her discharge.”
“The life of same-sex couples is not simple and routine in 37 states,” she said. “These relationships are not equal.”
The Baltimore Democrat described the upcoming oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on cases that challenge the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act as potentially “momentous.” McIntosh stressed access to health care remains a serious problem for many LGBT Americans.
She noted 30 states have yet to ban discrimination against gay men and lesbians in employment, public accommodations and access to health care facilities. McIntosh further pointed out 37 states do not have trans-specific legal protections in place.
“While we march towards marriage equality continues, we should not lose sight of the critical needs and access to health care within the LGBT community,” she said. “Let us also recognize the health disparities in our community and work to close those gaps. The positive and just normal life experience that Diane and I had this week in a hospital emergency room would not have happened in a majority of our states.”
The Mautner Project honored McIntosh ahead of an anticipated vote in the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on a bill that would ban discrimination based on gender identity and expression in employment, housing and public accommodation.
The House of Delegates in 2011 passed a trans rights bill, but a similar measure died in a Senate committee last year.
McIntosh told the Washington Blade last month she expects Senate Bill 449 will easily pass in the House.
She said she and other gay state lawmakers continue to work with Madaleno, who introduced the measure with state Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County,) and Equality Maryland to ensure it garners additional support in the legislature.
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The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.
Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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