Local
Poll shows McAuliffe maintains slight lead over Cuccinelli
Virginia gubernatorial candidates to debate in McLean on Sept. 25
A new poll shows former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe continues to maintain a slight lead over Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the commonwealthās gubernatorial race.
The survey of 1,005 likely Virginia voters that Quinnipiac University conducted between Sept. 9-15 found McAuliffe ahead of Cuccinelli by a 44-41 percent margin. Seven percent of respondents said they support Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Robert Sarvis.
The Quinnipiac University survey comes on the heels of a Rasmussen Reports survey that found McAuliffe ahead of Cuccinelli by a 45-38 percent margin.
A poll that Public Policy Polling conducted on behalf of the League of Conservation Voters between Aug. 27-28 found McAuliffe ahead of Cuccinelli by a 44-37 percent margin. Nine percent of respondents said they support Sarvis.
“We never put much stock in a single poll, but with more than half of Virginians finding Cuccinelli and his extreme social agenda unfavorable everyone should expect to see the Cuccinelli campaign become more and more desperate in the final weeks of the campaign,ā McAuliffe campaign spokesperson Josh Schwerin told the Washington Blade.
Cuccinelli campaign spokesperson Anna Nix noted the race remains close.
āAs voters learn more about Ken Cuccinelliās record of fighting for Virginia and Terry McAuliffeās record of putting himself first at the expense of workers, they are going side with the attorney general,ā she told the Blade. āWith each passing day, the energy and enthusiasm on the ground in support of Cuccinelli grows and with less than 50 days, our campaign is working to deliver victory on Nov. 5.ā
Quinnipiac University released its survey two days after Cuccinelli and McAuliffe filed their latest campaign finance reports.
Cuccinelli reported he raised $5,687,527.04 between July 1 and Aug. 31 and spent $6,106,440.89 over the same period. His campaign finance report also indicates the Republican Governors Association made $3,740,132.44 in in-kind contributions to his campaign during the same period.
McAuliffe reported his campaign raised $7,355,246.09 between July 1 and Aug. 31, and spent $8,357,719.66 during the same period. His campaign finance report notes the DNCās Political Party Committee made $15,618.84 in in-kind contributions to his effort to defeat Cuccinelli between July 1 and Aug. 31.
McAuliffeās campaign finance report also indicates Planned Parenthood Virginia, the NextGen Climate Action Committee, the Service Employees International Union and the Sierra Club are among the groups that have also contributed to his campaign.
Gay advocates continue to criticize Cuccinelli
Virginia Democrats and LGBT rights advocates have repeatedly criticized Cuccinelli; Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate E.W. Jackson and state Sen. Mark Obenshein (R-Harrisonburg,) who is running for attorney general, over their opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples and other gay-specific issues.
Chief Justice John Roberts last month denied Cuccinelliās request to place a stay on a three-judge panelās March ruling that struck down Virginiaās anti-sodomy statute while the U.S. Supreme Court considers his appeal of it. Cuccinelli said during a debate against McAuliffe in July that Judy Woodruff of PBS NewsHour moderated that his āpersonal beliefs about the personal challenge of homosexuality havenāt changed.ā
Cuccinelli last October also spoke at an anti-gay marriage rally at a Manassas church to which the Blade was denied access.
āWhen I knock on doors in Northern Virginia, it is clear to me that voters are starting to pay attention,ā state Del. Rob Krupicka (D-Alexandria) told the Blade on Wednesday. āI regularly hear about womenās rights and equality from voters concerned about how our state is perceived in the rest of the country.ā
State Del. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax,) who in January introduced a bill that would have repealed Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, echoed Krupicka.
“Ken Cuccinelli has worn his crusades against women, the LGBT community, immigrants, the environment, and the federal government on his sleeve for the last decade and especially for the last four years,” Surovell told the Blade in response to the latest Quinnipiac University poll. “His ticketmates have stood by recent comments that gays are ‘ikky,’ ‘wrong and unacceptable,’ and ‘very sick people.’ It is obvious to anyone in Virginia that this is the most ideologically extreme ticket we have ever seen in Virginia and it is showing in the polls.”
Gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) agreed.
āThe general electorate is just starting to tune in, as is typical after Labor Day,ā he said. āWhile lots of people know that Ken Cuccinelli is against equality, we have to make sure everyone knows.ā
MSNBCās Chuck Todd on Sept. 25 will moderate a Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce-sponsored debate between McAuliffe and Cuccinelli in McLean.
District of Columbia
200 turn out for āLove Festā Drag Story Hour at Freddieās
Performer reads stories to kids and parents as three protest outside
Between 200 and 250 people, including parents and their children, turned out on Saturday, May 4, for a āLove Festā Drag Story Hour brunch hosted by the Arlington, Va., LGBTQ establishment Freddieās Beach Bar and Restaurant.
Local drag performer Tara Hoot, who read childrenās stories and handed out coloring books to the kids attending the event, was joined by members of the Gay Menās Chorus of Washington, which sang several songs before Hoot began reading from childrenās books in keeping with the tradition of drag queens conducting Drag Story Hour events across the country.
The May 4 event at Freddieās in the Crystal City section of Arlington took place four weeks after the start of a similar event hosted by Freddieās was delayed by a bomb threat, forcing those who had arrived to exit through a rear door and wait in a parking lot as Arlington police conducted a search of the premises with a bomb sniffing dog. No trace of a bomb was found.
All the customers, including parents and their kids, were invited back inside and the show took place as planned.
No similar threat occurred at the May 4 event. But three male protesters assembled on the sidewalk next to the parking lot behind the Freddieās building, with one of them shouting from a bullhorn passages from his Bible that he said indicated the Drag Story Hour event was an āabomination.ā
The three protesters were outnumbered by nearly a dozen counter protesters who were members of the Rainbow Defense Coalition, an LGBTQ organization. They carried bright, rainbow-colored umbrellas while chanting messages of support for the Drag Story Hour event.
Freddie Lutz, Freddieās Beach Bar owner, called the event a āsmashing successā that brought an āoutpouring of love from the community.ā Lutz released a flier on social media promoting the Love Fest event shortly after the earlier event interrupted by the bomb threat as a showing of love “to stop the hate.”
“Join us for the next story time brunch dressed in your favorite rainbow/hippie outfit” and “carry your favorite homemade signs of support,” Lutz said in his promotional flier. He came to the event dressed in what he called his hippie protest outfit.
Lutz said while the protesters did not interrupt the event, he was concerned that their shouting was scaring some of the kids as they and their parents walked by the protesters to enter Freddieās.
āI went out back and tried to talk to one of them and it was kind of like talking to a brick wall,ā Lutz told the Washington Blade. āHe was screaming at the parents that were crossing their kids on the crosswalk,ā Lutz said. āAnd I said, youāre screaming at those kids, youāre scaring them.ā
Lutz said the man told him he was yelling at the parents, not the kids. āAnd I said, no youāre not. The kids are hearing you. Youāre scaring them.ā
Added Lutz, āAnd to have such a fun-loving, happy show and then walk out on the sidewalk to that is very disheartening. Itās really sad. I told him my God is a forgiving and loving God.ā
One of the protesters, who declined to disclose his name, said he and his two fellow protesters came to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
āWe want them to know this is an abomination to the Lord,ā he told the Blade. āWe want them to know those children donāt have a voice and theyāre being brainwashed in there. Weāre here to call out their sin.ā
Stephanie Krenrich, who brought her two-year-old daughter to the event, said she strongly disputes the claims of the protesters.
āI brought my daughter here because I think that it was a beautiful and wonderful show, and it was great for her,ā she said. āAnd I think itās pretty offensive when people come to Arlington and tell parents what to do, especially for something so beautiful and so fun and so wholesome,ā she told the Blade.
āSo thatās why I brought her,ā Krenrich said. āI think that itās really important that we stand up for our values and people just being themselves, being happy and being them.ā
Among those who attended the event were four elected officials from Arlington ā Virginia State Sen. Barbara Favola, Virginia State Del. Adele McClure, Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffee, and Arlington and Falls Church Stateās Attorney Parisa Dehgani-Tafti.
Also attending was Nick Benton, editor and publisher of the LGBTQ supportive Falls Church, Va., News Press; and Kellen McBeth, president of the LGBTQ group Equality Arlington.
āIt was fantastic to see so many people come out to support Freddieās, to support the LGBTQ+ community,ā McBeth said. āIt was a great event and weāre happy to be a part of it.ā
District of Columbia
Another successful Taste of Point fundraiser
Scholars praise financial, networking support
The Point Foundation hosted its annual Taste of Point DC fundraising event on Thursday with nine participating restaurants, a drag performance, and a silent auction.
The event was hosted on the rooftop of the Room & Board on 14th Street, with an afterparty at Shakers. Point donors, scholars, and alumni circled the rooftop eating chips and guacamole from Mi Vida and drinking Pinot Grigio from Barkada.
After about an hour of mingling the events began with event committee member, Kelly Horton and Kevin Kim Wright, chief of staff welcoming the crowd and speaking about the importance of their presence during this pivotal time in queer youth history. Then, Wright welcomed BIPOC Scholar Katherine Guerrero Rivera, saying she was a model of a Point scholar.
āWeāre always impressed with all of our scholars and Katherine is another example of a student who is deeply engaged in their campus life and a myriad of projects, everything from creating her own podcast to being a part of a number of student organizations.ā Wright said.
Rivera said that the Point Foundation scholarship helps her resist the pressure to drop out. She pointed out that just over 50 percent of Latina students who attend college graduate.
āThe Point BIPOC Scholarship is not just financial support, Point has connected me with hundreds of people like me studying on campuses across the country.ā she said.
Rivera is a criminology major and poetics minor at University of Maryland and said she hopes to use her degree to bring knowledge to her community through art and advocacy. She said it is important for her to take academic jargon and make it accessible to her community.
āToo often, the history of LGBTQ and people are ignored and silenced during our education,ā she said. āI want to use my access to higher education and the chance to develop my creative skills to bring light to societal issues.ā
She finished her speech with applause for the audience, then Horton came back with drag queen Tara Hoot to discuss ways donors could continue to support the Point Foundation.
After the lineup of events Wright said he felt great about the event, because it was a celebration of Pointās scholars.
āSome are interning for United States senators, some are volunteering for leading national non-profits, so to be able to celebrate all thatās being done here is truly amazing,ā
Wright continued, thanking the D.C. restaurant community for consistently showing up in force to support Point.
āThis really helps to paint the picture that this movement is growing,ā he said. āPeople believe in this mission to provide LGBTQ young people with the opportunity to pursue their higher education goals, to improve their leadership abilities and then go on to make a significant impact on society.ā
CLICK HERE to see more photos from Taste of Point.
Virginia
Miyares joins efforts to fight Title IX changes
Republican Va. AG part of multi-state effort
BY NATHANIEL CLINE | Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares has joined a multi-state effort to stop new Title IX rules from going into effect.
The list of new rules designed to protect victims of campus sexual assaults and the rights of LGBTQ students has come under attack by Republican attorneys general in several states.
Miyares called the changes a ādangerous overhaulā of Title IX, and said the new rules would negatively impact students, families and schools in the commonwealth. The ruling also comes after Gov. Glenn Youngkinās administration overhauled the commonwealthās transgender student policies.
āThe Biden administrationās unlawful rule would jeopardize half a century of landmark protections for women, forcing the administrationās social agenda onto the states by holding federal funding hostage,ā Miyares said in a statement. āThey are avoiding Congress and the constitutional process because they know it will not pass. We cannot roll back Title IX in the name of false equity.ā
Attorney generals from Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia have also signed onto the suit, which was filed in Tennessee. Separate lawsuits have been filed in other states, including Louisiana and Texas.
Title IX, which has undergone several transformations based on the political party in office, was created to address womenās rights and prohibits any federally funded school or education program from discriminating against any student based on sex since it was established in 1972.
The Department of Education said some differences compared to the previous version developed under the Trump administration, include protections against all sex-based harassment and discrimination, prohibits schools from sharing personal information, and supports students and families.Ā
Narissa Rahaman, executive director for Equality Virginia, said in a statement that the rule prevents opponents from weakening ācrucialā civil rights protections including for LGBTQ students by ensuring that pregnant and parenting students have a right to equal education opportunities, protecting student survivors and guaranteeing the rights of LGBTQ students to come to school as themselves without fear of harassment or discrimination.
āStudents across races, places, and genders prove every day that they can do great things, especially when there are strong Title IX protections in place, which is why the Biden administrationās updates to the Title IX rules are essential to ensure every student can thrive at school,ā said Rahaman.
The new rule is slated to take effect on Aug. 1 and will apply to complaints of alleged conduct that occurs on or after that date, according to the Department of Education.
Protections
While the ruling protects students and employees from all sex-based harassment and discrimination, it will also impact LGBTQ students and employees, including providing complete protection from sex-based harassment, and prohibiting schools from sharing personal information.
Schools must act āpromptly and effectivelyā to protect and treat all students and staff who make complaints āequitably.ā Schools must also provide support measures to complainants and respondents, and act to end any sex discrimination in their programs and prevent any recurrence.
The rule further clarifies the definition of āsex-based harassment,ā which means to treat someone unfairly because of their gender; and the scope of sex discrimination, including schoolsā obligations not to discriminate based on sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
The federal agency said the changes will empower and support students and families by requiring schools to disclose their nondiscrimination policies and procedures to all students, employees, and other participants in their education programs so that students and families understand their rights.
The final rule also protects against retaliation for students, employees, and others who exercise their Title IX rights, and supports the rights of parents and guardians to act on behalf of their elementary school and secondary school children.
The rule also protects student privacy by prohibiting schools from disclosing personally identifiable information with limited exceptions, which is something the Youngkin administration has opposed.
Advocates say one of the rights students should have is the power to decide who finds out about their transgender status, to protect them from being bullied or harassed.
Virginia policies
In 2021, the first model policies for trans students were designed under former Gov. Ralph Northam to provide school officials guidance on the treatment of trans and nonbinary students and to protect the privacy and rights of these students.
However, some schools declined to adopt the model policies, and the state law that led to them lacked enforcement incentives or penalties.
The current policies adopted by the Youngkin administration were revised to require parental approval for any changes to studentsā ānames, nicknames, and/or pronouns,ā direct schools to keep parents āinformed about their childrenās well-beingā and require that student participation in activities and athletics and use of bathrooms be based on sex, āexcept to the extent that federal law otherwise requires.ā
Virginia schools have also not fully adopted the newly revised policies, and state law has not changed since the policies were overhauled in 2023.
The Virginia Department of Education faces two lawsuits over the policies adopted by the Youngkin administration.
āAll Virginia students, including our transgender and nonbinary students deserve to feel safe and welcomed at schools,ā said Wyatt Rolla, a senior trans rights attorney with the ACLU of Virginia. āAccessing restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities that are necessary when you are at school learning is a key part of our schools being inclusive of those transgender [and] non binary students that are part of our community.ā
Athletics not included
The provisions under the new Title IX rule did not mention anything about requiring schools to allow trans students to play on teams that align with their gender identity. Virginia has taken its own shot at banning trans athletes from competing in sports through legislation.
In February, the Youngkin administration attempted to challenge the Virginia High School Leagueās policy on transgender athletes, the Daily Progress reported.
The proposed policy would have matched with the administrationās current policies that students should be placed on teams based on their biological sex rather than their gender identity.
The Virginia High School League, which oversees interscholastic athletic competition for Virginiaās public high schools, allows for trans athletes to participate on teams that match their gender identity, but under certain conditions.
Simultaneously, lawmakers in the Virginia General Assembly controlled by Democrats killed bills, including Senate Bill 68, during the previous session that would have essentially banned transgender students from competing in sports.
State Sen. Tammy Brankley Mulchi (R-Mecklenburg), who carried Senate Bill 723, said students like her 6-year-old granddaughter should have a choice to play with their own gender during a Feb. 1 Senate Education subcommittee hearing.
Mulchiās bill would have required schools and colleges to have separate sports for boys and girls based on their biological sex. Any dispute would require a note from a doctor.
āIf she [my granddaughter] wants to play an all-girl sport, I want her to play against girls that were born girls and not play against someone that is much stronger than her or can hurt her and take away her chances of a scholarship,ā Mulchi said.
However, state Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D-Fairfax) argued during the February hearing that whether students are competing with their respective biological sex or not āchildren of all ages, sexes have different builds and strengths and no children are alike on the same team.ā
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Nathaniel is an award-winning journalist who’s been covering news across the country since 2007, including politics at the Loudoun Times-Mirror and the Northern Neck News in Virginia as well as sports for the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. He has also hosted podcasts, worked as a television analyst for Spectrum Sports, and appeared as a panelist for conferences and educational programs. A graduate of Bowie State University, Nathaniel grew up in Hawaii and the United Kingdom as a military brat.
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The preceding article was previously published by the Virginia Mercury and is republished with permission.
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