Local
‘It’s a new day’ in Virginia politics
Anti-discrimination efforts top legislative agenda
Efforts to ban anti-LGBT discrimination and repeal a state constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex marriage are among the priorities for Virginia LGBT rights advocates during the 2014 legislative session that begins on Wednesday.
State Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico County) has once again introduced a bill that would ban discrimination against state employees based on their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
The state Senate last January approved the measure by a 24-16 vote margin, but a Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee subsequently killed it. Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe has repeatedly said the first executive order he will issue once he takes office on Saturday is a ban on anti-LGBT discrimination against state employees.
āWe definitely want to continue that momentum,ā said Equality Virginia Executive Director James Parrish.
McEachin, state Sens. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Janet Howell (D-Fairfax County) and state Dels. Joe Morrissey (D-Henrico County), Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax County), Rob Krupicka (D-Alexandria), Ken Plum (D-Fairfax County) and Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria) have sponsored proposed resolutions that would seek a repeal of the commonwealthās same-sex marriage ban that voters in 2006 approved by a 57-43 percent margin. Howell and state Del. Joseph Yost (R-Giles County) are expected to introduce bills in their respective chambers that would extend second-parent adoption rights to gays and lesbians.
Parrish told the Blade that more than 50 families have already said they want to testify in support of the measure.
āWe expect that to be a big bill in the House and in the Senate,ā he said.
State Del.-elect Marcus Simon (D-Falls Church) has pre-filed a bill that would ban anti-LGBT employment discrimination in the commonwealth. State Del. Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach) has introduced an identical measure.
Simon has also proposed a measure that seeks to add sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the Virginia Fair Housing Law.
State Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington County) next week is expected to introduce a bill that would ban so-called āex-gayā conversion therapy to minors in the commonwealth.
The Alliance for Progressive Values has worked with the Arlington County Democrat to write the bill that Ebbin is expected to introduce in the Senate.
Hope told the Blade on Tuesday similar bills that California Gov. Jerry Brown and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed into law last year ācertainly inspired me that this is the right time to bring this to Virginia.ā
Parrish said Equality Virginia would support the proposal, but Hope conceded it will likely face resistance.
āThis is an uphill battle,ā he said. āThis is Virginia that weāre talking about, so I expect some stiff opposition and some hurdles.ā
Christopher Doyle, director of the Maryland-based International Healing Foundation, singled out the Southern Poverty Law Center and other organizations that oppose āex-gayā therapy for encouraging Hope and other state lawmakers to introduce measures that seek to ban the controversial practice.
āNo one has ever tried to ban a specific therapeutic modality for any mental health issues,ā Doyle told the Blade. āThe foundations of the bill are incorrect and politicians are being misinformed and deceived.ā
Krupicka and state Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Fairfax County) have introduced bills that would allow the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to issue license plates to Equality Virginia supporters that contain the slogan āEquality for All.ā
Parrish said his group will also oppose a measure state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County) introduced that would require married same-sex couples to file their Virginia income tax returns as single individuals because the commonwealth does not recognize their unions. This measure seeks to codify the policy outgoing Gov. Bob McDonnell announced in November.
āWe have been reaching out to the new administration though about what we can possibly do about that very punitive tax opinion that came out of the [outgoing Gov. Bob] McDonnell administration,ā said Parrish.
The 2014 legislative session will begin three days before McAuliffe, Lieutenant Gov.-elect Ralph Northam and Attorney General-elect Mark Herring take office.
All three men publicly support marriage rights for same-sex couples. It remains unclear whether McAuliffe and Herring will defend Virginiaās gay marriage ban in two federal lawsuits that challenge it.
āItās a new day,ā Ebbin told the Blade as he discussed McAuliffe, Northam and Herring. āWeāll be dealing with people who are looking to help us instead of looking to harm and stymie us.ā
Parrish said the tone from the governor and the attorney generalās offices will be āa 180ā compared to McDonnell and outgoing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. He added the House will continue to remain a barrier to advancing LGBT-specific legislation during this legislative session.
āNow that we have a friendly administration in the governor and the attorney generalās office, it will allow us to better make the narrative that the Senate and the governor and the attorney general and the Virginia public are all on the same page,ā said Parrish. āAnd itās the House of Delegates thatās blocked any forward movement for the LGBT community.ā
Maryland
What Anne Arundel County school board candidates think about book bans
State lawmakers passed Freedom to Read Act in April
BY ROYALE BONDS | Parentsā efforts to restrict content available to students in school libraries has become a contentious issue in Maryland. Conservative parent groups, such as Moms for Liberty, have been working to get books they believe are inappropriate removed from libraries in Carroll and Howard counties, sparkingĀ protests, new policies, and even aĀ state law.
The Freedom to Read Act, passed in April, sets standards that books cannot be removed from public and school libraries due to an authorās background. Library staff that uphold the standard are protected under this act. The law, however, does not prohibit removing books deemed āsexually explicit,ā the stated reason local Moms for Liberty chapters challenged school library books.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner website.
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member proposes change for Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Parker also seeks increased funding for LGBTQ programs in FY 2025 budget
D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Councilās only LGBTQ member, has asked his fellow Council members to support a proposal to change the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs to become a āstand-alone entity outside the Executive Office of the Mayor to allow for greater transparency and accountability that reflects its evolution over the years.ā
In an April 30 letter to each of his 12 fellow Council members, Parker said he plans to introduce an amendment to the cityās Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Support Act to make this change for the LGBTQ Affairs Office.
His letter also calls for adding to the cityās FY 2025 budget two specific funding proposals that local LGBTQ activists submitted to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser that the mayor did not include in her budget proposal submitted to the Council. One calls for $1.5 million to fund the completion of the build out and renovation for the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Communityās new building in the cityās Shaw neighborhood and $300,000 in subsequent years to support the LGBTQ Centerās operations.
Parkerās second budget proposal calls for what he said was about $450,000 to fund 20 additional dedicated LGBTQ housing vouchers as part of the cityās existing program to provide emergency housing support for LGBTQ residents and other residents facing homelessness.
āThe Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs currently manages about 90 vouchers across various programs and needs,ā Parker said in his letter to fellow Council members. āAdding an additional 20 vouchers will cost roughly $450,000,ā he wrote, adding that dedicated vouchers “play a crucial role in ensuring LGBTQ+ residents of the District can navigate the complex process of securing housing placements.ā
In her proposed FY ā25 budget, Bowser calls for a 7.6 percent increase in funding for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which amounts to an increase of $132,000, bringing the officeās total funding to $1.7 million.
āTo be clear, I support the strong work and current leadership of the Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs,ā Parker says in his letter to fellow Council members. āThis push for change is in recognition of the officeās notable achievements and the significant demands being placed on it, which require a greater level of accountability.ā
Parker told the Blade in an April 30 telephone interview that he believes Japer Bowles, the current director of the Office of L|GBTQ Affairs is doing an excellent job in operating the office, but he believes the office would be able to do more for the LGBTQ community under the change he is proposing.
āMaking it a stand-alone office versus it being clustered within the Community Affairs division of the mayorās office, it will get more attention,ā Parker told the Blade. āThe leadership will have greater flexibility to advocate for the interest of LGBTQ residents, And we will be able to conduct greater oversight of the office,ā he said, referring to the Councilās oversight process.
Parker noted that other community constituent offices in the mayorās office, including the Office of Latino Affairs and the Office of Veterans Affairs are stand-alone offices that he hopes to bring about for the LGBTQ Affairs Office. He said Council member Brianne Nadeau, who chairs the Council committee that has oversight for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, has expressed support for his proposal.
Also expressing support for Parkerās proposal to make the LGBTQ Affairs Office a stand-alone office is the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission Rainbow Caucus. Vincent Slatt, the caucusās chairperson, submitted testimony last week before the D.C. Council Committee on Public Works and Operations, which is chaired by Nadeau, calling for making the LGBTQ Affairs Office a stand-alone office outside the Executive Office of the Mayor.
Slatt also stated in his testimony that the office has a āchronic staffing shortageā and recommended that at least three additional staff members be assigned to the office.
Daniel Gleick, the mayorās press secretary, told the Blade the mayorās office is reviewing Parkerās budget proposals, including the proposed change for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
But in testimony at a May 1, D.C. Council budget hearing before the Councilās Committee on Executive Administration and Labor, Lindsey Parker, Mayor Bowserās Chief of Staff, appeared to express skepticism over making the LGBTQ Affairs office a stand-alone office. Lindsey Parker expressed her thoughts on the proposed change when asked about it by Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), who chairs the committee that held the hearing.
āI would proffer that it doesnāt matter whether the agency is within the EOM [Executive Office of the Mayor] or not,ā Lindsey Parker told Bonds. āThey will still be reporting up into one would argue the most important agency in the D.C. government, which is the one that supports the mayor,ā Lindsey Parker said. āSo, itās the closest to the mayor that you can get,ā she said āSo, you could pull it out and have a different budget chapter. I actually think thatās confusing and convoluted.ā
Lindsey Parker added, āThe Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs, with their six FTEs right now, if they were a stand-alone function they wouldnāt have all the non-personnel services in order to operate. They need to be under sort of the shop of the EOM in order to get those resources.āĀ
By FETs Lindsey Parker was referring to the term Full Time Equivalent employees. Ā
Rehoboth Beach
Former CAMP Rehoboth official sentenced to nine months in prison
Salvator Seeley pleaded guilty to felony theft charge for embezzlement
Salvator āSalā Seeley, who served as an official with the Rehoboth Beach, Del., CAMP Rehoboth LGBTQ community center for 20 years, was sentenced on April 5 by a Sussex County Superior Court judge to nine months in prison and to pay $176,000 in restitution to the organization.
The sentencing took place about five weeks after Seeley pleaded guilty to a charge of Theft in Excess of $50,000 for allegedly embezzling funds from CAMP Rehoboth, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of Justice told the Washington Blade.
Seeley’s guilty plea came shortly after a grand jury, at the request of prosecutors, indicted him on the felony theft charge following an investigation that found he had embezzled at least $176,000 from the nonprofit LGBTQ organization.
āSalvatore C. Seeley, between the 27th day of February 2019 and the 7th day of September 2021, in the County of Sussex, State of Delaware, did take property belonging to CAMP Rehoboth, Inc., consisting of United States currency and other miscellaneous property valued at more than $50,000, intending to appropriate the same,ā the indictment states.
āThe State recommended a sentence of two years of incarceration based on the large-scale theft and the impact to the non-profit organization,ā Delaware Department of Justice spokesperson Caroline Harrison told the Blade in a statement.
āThe defense cited Seeleyās lack of a record and gambling addiction in arguing for a probationary sentence,ā the statement says. āSeeley was sentenced in Superior Court to a nine-month prison term and to pay a total of $176,000 in restitution for the stolen funds,ā Harrison says in the statement.
Neither Seeley nor his attorney could immediately be reached for comment.
At the time of Seeleyās indictment in February, CAMP Rehoboth released a statement saying it first discovered āfinancial irregularitiesā within the organization on Sept. 7, 2021, āand took immediate action and notified state authorities.ā The statement says this resulted in the investigation of Seeley by the state Department of Justice as well as an internal investigation by CAMP Rehoboth to review its āfinancial control policiesā that led to an updating of those policies.
āAs we have communicated from day one, CAMP Rehoboth has fully cooperated with law enforcement,ā the statement continues. āAt its request, we did not speak publicly about the investigation while it was ongoing for fear it would jeopardize its integrity,ā according to the statement. āThis was extremely difficult given our commitment to transparency with the community about day-to-day operations during the recent leadership transition.ā
The statement was referring to Kim Leisey, who began her job as CAMP Rehobothās new executive director in July of 2023, while the Seeley investigation had yet to be completed, following the organizationās process of searching for a new director. It says Seeley left his job as Health and Wellness Director of CAMP Rehoboth in September of 2021 after working for the organization for more than 20 years.
āMr. Seeleyās actions are a deep betrayal to not only CAMP Rehoboth but also the entire community we serve,ā the statement says.