District of Columbia
Nex Benedict honored at D.C. candlelight vigil
Upwards of 100 people paid tribute to nonbinary Okla. student at As You Are
Nearly 100 people turned out on Feb. 22 for a candlelight vigil hosted by the D.C. LGBTQ cafƩ and bar As You Are to pay tribute to 16-year-old nonbinary student Nex Benedict.
Benedict died Feb. 8 at a hospital in Owasso, Okla., one day after family members say Benedict was beaten up by three older female students in an Owasso High School bathroom after a fight broke out. Owasso police have said they are investigating the circumstances surrounding Benedictās death but said preliminary autopsy findings do not show the death was caused by physical injuries.
Family members, including Benedictās mother, told news media outlets that Benedict suffered severe bruises to their face and head and the family believes the injuries from an assault caused their childās death. Family members have also said Benedict had been targeted for bullying at school because of their status as a nonbinary person.
People who spoke at the As You Are candlelight vigil said they considered the death an anti-LGBTQ hate crime.
āToday we are brought together to mourn the loss of Nex Benedict,ā As You Are co-owner Rachel “Coach” Pike told the gathering, which was held on the As You Are outdoor patio and surrounding sidewalk. āNex Benedict, your life matters. It will always matter, and more than that your life was precious,ā Pike said.
āYou had the right to live as you were and all parts of your identity were beautiful and should have been celebrated, supported, and safe,ā Pike added.
Pike and other speakers, some of whom identified as nonbinary and transgender, pointed out that Benedict’s family are members of the Choctaw Nation, a Native American community. A speaker at the vigil who identified himself as Bo and said he identified as a two-spirit individual called on the gathering to pay tribute to Benedictās role as one of the Choctaw people.
āWhen I first heard the news of Nex Benedictās murder I was shocked,ā Bo said. āI thought of how young. I thought about how much life was taken from this child.ā
Another speaker, native American advocate Shiala King, whose family are members of the Sicangu Lakota Nation in South Dakota, arranged for her father, Frank John King, a faith leader and medicine man, to speak to the gathering by phone hookup from his residence in South Dakota. After greeting the gathering and expressing his condolences over the death of Benedict, Frank King further honored Benedict by singing a spiritual song in the Lakota language as part of a tradition of uplifting the spirit of beloved people who pass away.
Jo McDaniel, the other co-owner of As You Are whose also Pikeās spouse, said they were pleased with the response to their announcement of the vigil on social media.
āTo see this child taken from us this way, itās chilling and itās horrible and itās not right and itās not fair,ā McDaniel told the Washington Blade after the vigil ended. āAnd so, we knew that the only thing we could do to help our community heal was to gather. And we wanted to do that in as honorable and wonderful a way as possible as that kid deserves,ā she said.
Sue Benedict, Nex Benedictās mother, told the British newspaper The Independent that Nex was a ācourageous, smart teenager who had simply been living their true identity.ā The Independent reports that Sue Benedict said Nex had been subjected to taunts, insults and bullying due to their gender fluid identity for over a year.
Owasso police officials have said detectives were interviewing school officials and students to obtain more details on how the fight started and whether charges will be brought against those who allegedly assaulted Benedict. A police spokesperson told The Independent police were awaiting the findings of toxicology and autopsy reports from the Oklahoma Medical Examinerās Office to determine whether anyone will be charged with a criminal offense.
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