Maryland
Anne Arundel County school board rejects Pride flag ban
Vote was 4-3 against proposed policy
Anne Arundel County Board of Education members on Wednesday rejected a proposed ban on non-government flags on school property.
The policy would have banned flags, such as the Pride flag, Black Lives Matter flag and others from being hung or flown on school properties.
The board voted four to three, with one abstaining, against the proposed policy. The votes were as follows:
Board President Joanna Bache Tobin, District 6: No
Board VP Robert Silkworth, District 2: No
Eric Lin, Student Member: No
Gloria Dent, District 1: Abstain
Corine Frank, District 3: Yes
Melissa Ellis, District 4: Yes
Dana Schallheim, District 5: No
Michelle Corkadel, District 7: Yes
The ban, which Frank proposed, would have encouraged the display of the U.S. flag, Maryland flag and other local flags to fly at schools in the district. Any other flags displayed would have only been accepted for a “bona-fide educational purpose,” determined by the schools’ principals.
Along with banning the Pride and Black Lives Matter flags, the policy would have required school staff to get permission to hang military, college and sports team flags and pennants.
Advocates for the policy argued that the display of Pride and Black Lives Matter flags harm students whose religious beliefs do not support LGBTQ or Black Lives Matter communities. Others argued the flags themselves were political symbols, and their presence would influence students’ political beliefs.
The Anne Arundel chapter of Moms for Liberty, a far-right extremist group, was a strong supporter of the policy.
Opponents to the proposal argued a ban on flags would be one more step toward excluding LGBTQ studetns and students of color.
Lin, a senior at Severna Park High School and the only student representative on the board, was met with applause from his colleagues and those in the audience when he expressed concern over the labeling of flags as political.
“The Pride flag, for example, is not a political or social issue,” Lin said. “LGBTQ people exist in our society and their fight for continued equality is represented by the Pride flag. It is a human rights issue … in a public school system, the goal is to teach students that there are people who are different than them that exist, and teachers don’t teach students to be queer. They teach students that queer people exist and to treat them like human beings.”
Maryland
Baltimore Heritage wants Md. LGBTQ historical sites added to National Registry
Mary Elizabeth Garrett’s Mount Vernon home among historical sites
Baltimore Heritage is continuing its mission to preserve Maryland’s LGBTQ history.
The group, using documentation, is attempting to get statewide LGBTQ historical sites listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Kentucky was the first state to make this effort, using a similar study to Maryland, which outlined a comprehensive list of LGBTQ heritage sites.
Baltimore Heritage, a local non-profit, 15 years ago began its efforts to promote LGBTQ heritage within the local community, mainly with walking tours to sites important to LGBTQ history. Preservation Maryland in 2018 received a grant, and Susan Ferentinos spent two years compiling a comprehensive list of LGBTQ historical sites, later published in 2022.
Suffragist Mary Elizabeth Garrett’s Mount Vernon home is one of the examples of the LGBTQ historical sites.
Although Garrett never labeled herself, she was involved in same-sex relationships, was a leader in the feminist movement, and played a large role in advancing education for women.
Although the effort has been ongoing, Baltimore Heritage Executive Director Johns Hopkins explained that Baltimore Heritage and its partners’ goal is to add Maryland to the public conversation on LGBTQ history.
“Bringing a little bit of a spotlight to some of the sites that are important, locally and nationally, would be meeting a goal of trying to have a broader, more in-depth public discussion around LGBTQ history, so we all know where we’re coming from,” said Hopkins.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Supreme Court ruling against conversion therapy bans could affect Md. law
Then-Gov. Larry Hogan signed statute in 2018
By PAMELA WOOD, JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV, and MADELEINE O’NEILL | The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ kids in Colorado, a ruling that also could apply to Maryland’s ban on the discredited practice.
An 8-1 high court majority sided with a Christian counselor who argues the law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment. The justices agreed that the law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide whether it meets a legal standard that few laws pass.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court’s majority, said the law “censors speech based on viewpoint.” The First Amendment, he wrote, “stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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