District of Columbia
Activists hail new documentary on gays in the military after D.C. showing
‘Serving in Secret’ to premier nationally on MSNBC on Nov. 12
About 150 people, including LGBTQ rights advocates, their supporters and friends, turned out Wednesday for a premier D.C. showing of a new documentary film called āServing In Secret: Love, Country and Donāt Ask, Donāt Tell.ā
A production of MSNBC Films and Time Studios, the film chronicles the hardships and discrimination faced by LGBTQ people serving in the U.S. military going back to the early years of the nation’s armed forces up through the passage by Congress of the controversial “Donāt Ask, Donāt Tell” law and the eventual repeal of that law under the administration of President Barack Obama.
The repeal by Congress of “Donāt Ask, Donāt Tell” cleared the way for the first time in U.S. history for gays, lesbians and bisexuals to serve openly in the military.
The film showing, which was organized by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowserās Office of LGBTQ Affairs, took place at the auditorium of the recently opened John Hopkins University Bloomberg Center at 555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Two of the leading figures in the filmās production, U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Marine Corps fighter pilot Thomas Carpenter, and his nephew, filmmaker Jonathan Baker, who served as producer and director of the film, appeared as guest speakers on stage following the showing of the film.
A discussion with the two, which included questions from the audience, was moderated by Ryan Bos, executive director of D.C.ās Capital Pride Alliance.
Moving and sometimes highly emotional on-camera interviews with Carpenter make up a significant part of the film, which focuses on his personal story as a gay man who had to hide his sexual orientation during his distinguished tenure as a military officer.
Carpenterās story includes his love relationship with fellow military member Courtland Hirschi, which the two had to keep secret, and Hirschiās discharge from the military after authorities discovered he was gay. Carpenter also tells of his struggle in coping with Hirschiās discharge and the emotional toll when Hirschi, who he considered his spouse, died of AIDS in the early years of the epidemic in the 1980s.
Others who appear in interviews in the film include former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who served in the military; former Army Secretary Eric Fanning; LGBTQ activist David Mixner, who spoke out against “Donāt Ask, Donāt Tell” when President Bill Clinton first embraced it; and Aubrey Sarvis, former executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which led the lobbying effort for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
āServing In Secretā is scheduled to be shown nationwide on Nov. 12 on MSNBC and on Nov. 13 on Peacock.
Bowser, who attended the film showing, thanked Carpenter, Baker and others involved in the production of the film.
āThis is the great team that brought this project to life and made sure that our nationās LGBTQ+ veterans have their story told,ā Bowser said in remarks on stage at the conclusion of the film. āSo, I want to thank you for your courage and for sharing your story as well.ā
In response to Bosā question, Carpenter told the audience how he felt in watching what was said to be his first viewing of the final edited version of the film.
āWell, as you can imagine, the making of this film was a double-edge sword in the sense that it brought back a lot of very, very difficult memories for me,ā he said. āBut at the same time, the good side of its was we were able to accomplish something very significant.ā
Carpenter added, āAnd what I walk away with after seeing this final cut, how in hell they put all that history in 43 minutes is beyond me.ā His comment drew laughter and loud applause from the audience.
Baker, who is a twice Emmy-nominated producer and acclaimed filmmaker, thanked the others who played an important role in making the film.
āItās just been an incredible team effort, including the studio and the network that everybody knows gave us the opportunity to tell the story,ā he said. āAnd to me itās been profound because I remember growing up with my uncle and I remember loving him dearly as a kid growing up.ā
Baker said he was grateful that Carpenter, his uncle, agreed to take part in the film knowing it would bring back difficult memories but at the same time it would include an āinspirational ending,ā which included Carpenter playing an important role in joining the nationās leading LGBTQ rights organizations to successfully obtain the repeal of “Donāt Ask, Donāt Tell.”
District of Columbia
D.C. bill to study trans deaths faces opposition from LGBTQ advocates
Measure calls for creating Medical Examiner committee to identify trends
In a little-noticed development, D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) introduced a bill in September 2023 calling for creating a special committee within the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine and study trends related to the cause of death of transgender and āgender diverseā people in the District of Columbia.
The bill is called the Transgender and Gender Diverse Mortality and Fatality Review Committee Establishment Act. Among other things, it mandates that the medical examinerās office through the newly created committee āidentify and characterize the scope and nature of transgender and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities, to describe and record any trends, data, or patterns that are observed surrounding transgender and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities.ā
In a development that some observers say caught Pinto off guard, officials with two prominent D.C. LGBTQ supportive organizations ā the Whitman Walker Institute and the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL ā expressed strong opposition to the bill in testimony submitted in April as a follow-up to a Council hearing on the bill conducted by Pinto on March 21.
Among other things, the officials ā Benjamin Brooks, Whitman-Walker Instituteās Associate Director of Policy and Education; and Erin Whelan, SMYALās executive director, said the committee to be created by the bill to identify trans people who die would be an invasion of their and their familiesā privacy. The two said the funds needed to pay for identifying whether someone who dies is transgender should be used instead for other endeavors, including supporting trans people in need, and protecting their rights.
The hearing record for the Councilās Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, which Pinto chairs and which conducted the hearing, shows that Brooks and Whelan were among four witnesses that testified against the bill. Six witnesses, including officials with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Medical Society of the District of Columbia, testified in support of the bill.
Also testifying in support of the bill with suggested revisions was Vincent Slatt, who serves as chair of the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission Rainbow Caucus.
Jenna Beebe-Aryee, Supervisory Fatality Review Program Manager for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, testified that the bill would be āremarkably challengingā for that office and its partnering city agencies to carry out, including what she said would be a difficult process of identifying whether someone who has died is transgender or gender diverse. But she did not state that her office and the Office of the Mayor outright oppose the bill.
The bill has remained in Pintoās committee since the time of the hearing, with no indication from Pinto of what her plans are for going forward with the bill, including whether she plans to make revisions and if or when she may plan to bring the bill to the full Council for a vote.
Victoria Casarrubias, Pintoās communications director, told the Blade last week that Pintoās office had no immediate comment on Pintoās plans for the bill.
The 17-page bill, according to its introductory summary page, would also ācreate a strategic framework for improving transgender and gender-diverse health outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities in the District,ā and to ārecommend training to improve the identification, investigation, and prevention of transgender and gender-diverse fatalities, and to make publicly available an annual report of its findings, recommendations, and steps taken to evaluate implementation of past recommendations.ā
The bill authorizes the D.C. mayor to appoint the members of the newly created medical examinerās committee and requires that members include representatives of six D.C. government agencies, including the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; the departments of Health; Behavioral Health; Health Care Finance; Human Services; and the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
It calls on the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to provide support to other city agencies in developing procedures for identifying transgender people who the agencies have provided services for and who have died.
It also requires the mayor to name as committee members representatives of organizations providing health care and services for the transgender community as well as a social worker specializing in transgender related issues and a college or university representative āconducting research in transgender and gender-diverse mortality trends or fatality prevention.ā
Seven other members of the 13-member D.C. Council signed on as co-introducers of the bill. They include Council members Robert White (D-At-Large), Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), Christina Henderson (I-At Large), Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3), Janese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), and Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7).
Spokespersons for Gray and Bonds told the Blade the two Council members continue to support the bill and would consider any revisions that those who have expressed concern about the bill might suggest.
āThe establishment of this committee will continue the Districtās leading role in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and legislation,ā Pinto states in a letter accompanying her introduction of the bill. āThe Committee will be the first entity of its kind in the United States,ā according to her letter.
Pinto cites in her letter studies and national data showing that deaths of trans people are disproportionately higher due to a variety of causes, including illness compared to cisgender people in the United States. āTrans women in particular are disproportionately vulnerable to the aforementioned risks, as well as to violence and murder, with one in four trans women likely to be victimized by a hate-related crime,ā Pinto said in her letter.
āAlthough data are limited, some studies suggest that transgender people are ātwice as likely to die as cisgender peopleā due to āheart disease, lung cancer, HIV-related illness and suicide,ā with trans women being ātwo times as likely to die compared to cis men and āthree times as likelyā compared to cis women,ā Pinto states in her letter.
In their testimony against the bill, Brooks of Whitman Walker and Whalen of SMYAL said the problems they believe the bill will bring about outweigh the benefits that Pinto says it will provide for the trans community.
āIt is improper for the District government to be investigating and determining someoneās gender identity,ā Brooks said in his testimony. āThis would require District agencies to coordinate investigations into deeply personal characteristics of many people,ā he said. āThis invasion of privacy is a poor use of the governmentās time and energy.ā
Brooks stated that the city has existing policies and requirements designed to find ways to improve the lives of transgender and gender diverse residents. He pointed to the LGBTQ Health Data Collection Amendment Act of 2018, which requires the Department of Health to produce a comprehensive report on the health and health disparities faced by the D.C. LGBTQ community. According to Brooks, the Department of Health has not released such a report since 2017.
āWe strongly recommend that rather than proposing to spend precious time and scarce resources on a novel and invasive committee, the District should put those resources towards fulfilling existing data collection and reporting obligations,ā Brooks states in his testimony.
Whelan of SMYAL expressed similar concerns in her testimony. āTransgender and Gender-Diverse (TGD) people do not need yet another violation of their privacy and exposure to more questions and interrogation for them to provide the reasons for the incredible amount of violence and loss the transgender and gender-diverse community faces,ā Whelen says in her testimony.
āWhat we do need are solutions on how to address the underlying causes of anti-transgender violence, in addition to the barriers that prevent transgender and gender-diverse communities from accessing and maintaining safe and stable housing, and accessing affirming mental health resources,ā Whelan adds in her testimony. āWhat we as a community need is diligent action in a positive direction to actually address the lack of resources, services, and violence towards this community.ā
Supporters of the bill might point out that it includes strongly worded language calling for keeping personal information about transgender and gender-diverse people who die confidential and calls for criminal penalties for anyone who violates the confidentiality provision by disclosing the information, including whether a deceased person identified as transgender.
Brooks said strong grounds exist for not enacting the bill despite its privacy provision.
āThe collection of sensitive information, particularly for decedents who cannot advocate for their own right to privacy, always raises the potential for inappropriate disclosure regardless of potential penalties,ā he said. āThe threat of criminal prosecution can be a deterrent to the intentional inappropriate sharing of private information; however, it may not stop accidental or inadvertent disclosure,ā he said.
Slattās testimony calls for six specific suggested revisions in the bill pertaining to ways the newly created medical examiner committee would obtain information about trans people who die, including the suggestion that the Mayorās Office of LGBTQ Affairs become involved in identifying trans people who pass away and be given one or more additional staff members to help support its increased responsibilities under the legislation.
āMembers of the ANC Rainbow Caucus have discussed this proposed bill and find that it is a remarkable and historic step towards addressing trans and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities,ā Slatt says in his testimony.
āAt a time when trans and gender-diverse people are under attack by municipalities across the nation, the District of Columbia is setting an example on how to create not just a culture of inclusion, but also a culture of belonging for trans residents,ā he stated.
District of Columbia
Billy Porter, Keke Palmer, Ava Max to perform at Capital Pride
Concert to be held at annual festival on June 9
The Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.ās annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced this week the lineup of performers for the Sunday, June 9, Capital Pride Concert to be held during the Capital Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
Among the performers will be nationally acclaimed singers and recording artists Billy Porter and Keke Palmer, who will also serve as grand marshals for the Capital Pride Parade set to take place one day earlier on Saturday, June 8.
The Capital Price announcement says the other lead performers will be Ava Max, Sapphira Cristal, and the pop female trio ExposƩ.
āThe beloved pop icons will captivate audiences with upbeat performances coupled with their fierce advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, echoing the vibrant spirit of this yearās theme, āTotally Radical,āā according to a statement released by Capital Pride Alliance.
āWith Billy Porter and Keke Palmer leading the parade as Grand Marshals, weāre not only honoring their incredible contributions to the LGBTQ+ community but also amplifying their voices as fierce advocates for equality and acceptance,ā Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said in the statement.
āThe concert and festival serve as a platform to showcase the diverse array of LGBTQ+ talent, from the chart-topping hits of Ava Max to the iconic sounds of ExposĆ© and the electrifying performances of Sapphira Cristal,ā Bos said in the statement. āCapital Pride 2024 promises to be a celebration like no other.ā
The concert will take place from 12-10 p.m. on the main stage and other stages across the four-block long festival site on Pennsylvania Avenue.
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