Washington Blade's Local News

Virginia's gay Democrats warming to Sen. Deeds

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EST

Virginia's gay Democrats warming to Sen. Deeds
Nominee seen as better than GOP alternative
By Chris Johnson
Friday, July 03, 2009
Virginia's LGBT Democrats are beginning to warm to their party's gubernatorial nominee after largely having supported another candidate during the primary.

In the primary last month, State Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath County), trounced his opponents and received the Democratic gubernatorial nomination by taking nearly 50 percent of the vote.

Charley Conrad, president of the Virginia Partisans, an LGBT Democratic group, said while the Democratic primary didn't produce “the outcome that we wanted,” his group would “certainly” support Deeds in the election.

“I mean, the biggest things is … he's opposed to discrimination in any f ...

Marriage opponents lose case

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EST

Marriage opponents lose case
People behind referendum pledge to keep fighting
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
Friday, July 03, 2009
A D.C. judge issued a crippling blow Tuesday to supporters of a referendum to overturn the city's same-sex marriage recognition law by denying a request for a court injunction to put the law on hold and allow more time to coordinate the referendum.

Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin, in a 15-page decision, also upheld a ruling by the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics that determined the referendum could not be held because its aim of barring the city from recognizing same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions would violate the city's human rights law, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Retchin's decision clears the way for the city to begin reco ...

Police Log

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EST

Police Log
D.C. police department's Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit's weekly report
By Staff & Wire Reports
Friday, July 03, 2009
The D.C. police department's Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit was recently involved in the following cases. The GLLU assists in a wide variety of cases and its involvement does not imply any person or business is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

• POLICE ASSISTANCE: A man requested GLLU assistance June 21 at 11:30 p.m. regarding handling a domestic violence situation. The man told police he was attempting to get assistance for his boyfriend, who is addicted to crystal meth. The couple lives in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.

• VERBAL ATTACK: Police were called June 21 at 2:30 a.m. to the 3500 block of 14th Street, N.W., to respond to a cal ...

Sheri Abrams

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EST

Sheri Abrams
Awarded 2009 Best of Fairfax Award in the local business category
By Joshua Lynsen
Friday, July 03, 2009
Sheri Abrams has been selected for a 2009 Best of Fairfax Award in the local business category. Established to recognize the best of local businesses, the Best of Fairfax Award program recognizes companies that enhance the positive image of small businesses through service to their customers and community. As co-presidents of GAYLAW, Washington's bar association for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender attorneys, Kristin Muenzen and Allen Orr are supporting a recent D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics decision to reject a referendum on marriage rights. Muenzen and Orr said they are committed to seeing the rights upheld.

The National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Bar ...

Police official speaks about hate crimes

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EST

Police official speaks about hate crimes
Parson gives details on investigative process
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Acting Lt. Brett Parson, who oversees the D.C. Police Department's Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, spoke June 27 on how police enforce the city's hate crimes law before an audience of mostly tourists at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment.

The museum, located at Seventh and F streets, N.W., is a privately owned facility. Parson delivered his presentation in the museum's television studio, which is used by television personality John Walsh to film “America's Most Wanted.”

Parson talked about how police work with prosecutors and the public to grapple with the relatively new body of law associated with hate crimes. He gave examples of hate cri ...

Va. court rules against dismissed gay employee

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EST

Va. court rules against dismissed gay employee
Employee claimed firing based on sexual orientation
By Chris Johnson
Friday, July 03, 2009
A Virginia court has determined that a state employee who alleged he was fired for being gay has no recourse in the state legal system.

The Circuit Court of the City of Martinsville made the decision despite a 2006 executive order from Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) prohibiting discrimination in the public workforce based on sexual orientation.

In the decision, dated June 15, the court determined that with no statute prohibiting discrimination for gay people, Kaine's executive order provides “no subject matter jurisdiction” and doesn't “create causes of action nor waive sovereign immunity.”

The case centers on Michael Moore, a former Mart ...

D.C. marriage law poised to take effect

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

D.C. marriage law poised to take effect
Anti-gay minister seeks reprieve on July 6 referendum deadline
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Attorneys for a minister seeking a voter referendum to overturn the District's same-sex marriage recognition law are asking a D.C. judge to issue an injunction to suspend the July 6 deadline for meeting all the referendum's requirements, including the submission of 21,000 valid petition signatures.

The attorneys representing Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. of Hope Christian Church in Maryland and six others who proposed the referendum told D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin at a hastily called hearing June 18 that their clients face an unfair litany of requirements to place the marriage law on the ballot. They said the July 6 deadline should therefore be suspended.

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2 local activists want Jackson investigated

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

2 local activists want Jackson investigated
Election board asked to open probe of minister's residency claims
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Two local activists are asking the D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics to investigate whether a voter referendum petition to overturn the city's same-sex marriage recognition law should be disqualified because the minister behind it is not a legal D.C. resident.

Attorney Cary Silverman, president of the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, and Martin Moulton, president of the D.C. Convention Center Community Association, said information they gathered from public records and submitted to the election board Wednesday shows that Bishop Harry Jackson Jr. appears to be a resident of Maryland, even though he affirmed in an affidavit that he lives in the District.

S ...

Lesbian among victims of deadly Metro crash

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

Lesbian among victims of deadly Metro crash
Accident deadliest in Metro's history
By Chris Johnson
Friday, June 26, 2009
Among the nine people who died in this week's Metro collision was a lesbian who had been with her partner for at least 15 years.

Mandy Doolittle, 59 and a D.C. resident, was among the victims. Her partner was Carol Anne Douglas, a former collective member of “Off Our Backs,” a feminist news journal published since 1970.

Monday's crash occurred on Metro's Red Line after one train slammed into another from behind near the Fort Totten Station. It was not immediately clear what triggered the collision, the deadliest in Metro's history.

Karla Mantilla, another collective member of the news journal, said Doolittle was “an incredibly sweet person, ...

Transgender activist weighs run for Maryland House

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

Transgender activist weighs run for Maryland House
Beyer first ran for office three years ago
By Amy Cavanaugh
Friday, June 26, 2009
Three years after first running for state office in Maryland, transgender activist Dana Beyer is considering throwing her hat back into the ring.

“I'm not officially running yet, and I'm not going to make a decision until I see how fundraising goes,” she said. “But I'm thinking about it and have been planning on it for several years.”

A fundraiser for Beyer's possible campaign as a District 18 state delegate was held Wednesday at the Washington home of Human Rights Campaign board member John Isa.

The event began after Blade deadline. Lane Hudson, a coordinator, said about 30 to 50 people were expected to attend. Tickets began at ...

Man charged in murder of Baltimore lesbian couple

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

Man charged in murder of Baltimore lesbian couple
Police accuse 21-year-old of murder and robbery
By Amy Cavanaugh
Friday, June 26, 2009
Baltimore police have charged a 21-year-old man with murder in connection with the deaths of two lesbians who were found slain in their home earlier this month.

Troy Harris, a Baltimore City Police Department spokesperson, said Mark Floyd was arrested last week and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree assault and theft in the case that left Lydia “Buffy” Steed, 31, and Allisha “Prada” Royster, 23, dead.

Steed and Royster died after suffering multiple stab wounds to the backs of their heads June 6 or June 7, according to Harris. The women, who police say were robbed, weren't found in their apartment along the 4000 block of Biddis ...

Obituary

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

Obituary
Witt Guise Pratt, 48
By Staff & Wire Reports
Friday, June 26, 2009
Witt Guise Pratt, a lifelong Washington-area resident, died May 20 of sleep apnea at a mountain cabin near his home in Winchester, Va., according to family members. He was 48.

Pratt, who was gay, left his job as a legal secretary at the Washington firm of Nixon Peabody in 2002 to pursue volunteer work and his passions. A nationally heralded knitter, he was a Crafts Yarn Council-certified teacher and could often be seen with his needles and yarn in coffee houses, museums, churches and other locales in Washington and Northern Virginia. Pratt was also a spirited drag queen and a member of the Academy of Washington, a center for drag queens and fans. A fluent Germa ...

Capital Pride a 'huge success'

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

Capital Pride a 'huge success'
Organizers say sunny weather yielded big turnout
By Amy Cavanaugh
Friday, June 19, 2009

With celebrations for last week's 34th annual Capital Pride wrapped, organizers are calling the event a “huge success.”

Dyana Mason, who served as executive director of Capital Pride for the organization that produces the annual LGBT parade and festival, said she “couldn't have been more thrilled with how everything went.”

“The parade was larger than ever before, the festival was hugely successful and the 35 or so events that we had, either that we organized or that were organized by our community partners, were well attended,” she said. “It just was a really great week.”

Mason particularly praised the weather, which ...

Equality Maryland's former director under fire

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

Equality Maryland's former director under fire
Runyon stepped down after six months on the job
By Amy Cavanaugh
Friday, June 19, 2009
Some gay Marylanders are criticizing Equality Maryland's former executive director, who left the organization last week after six months on the job.

Kate Runyon stepped down June 12 without publicly offering a reason for her resignation. Until a new director is found, Equality Maryland Foundation Board President David Toth is handling daily management of both organizations.

Equality Maryland Board President Scott Davenport said a search for Runyon's replacement is underway, but it's unclear when the vacancy will be filled.

“The timeline is as soon as possible,” Davenport said. “A search committee has been formed … and we have eight or ...

No jail time, despite hate crime guilty plea

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

No jail time, despite hate crime guilty plea
Attack victim fears light penalty sends bad message
By Joshua Lynsen
Friday, June 19, 2009
Jonathan Howard struggles to accept the sentence his attacker received.

“I find it really hard to wrap it around nine counts — including four civil rights violations — and not going to jail,” he said. “It was an unprovoked attack based on hate and he's not going to jail.”

Howard, who lives in Adams Morgan, was one of three gay men attacked in August 2008 as they walked through Boston's South End. A bisexual female friend also was injured in the attack, which was prosecuted as an anti-gay hate crime.

The lone man identified and charged among those involved in the attack, 29-year-old Fabio Brandao of Framingham, Mass., pleade ...

D.C. officials block marriage referendum

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

D.C. officials block marriage referendum
Board says ballot initiative violates Human Rights Act; opponents file appeal
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics this week denied a petition seeking a voter referendum to overturn a city law recognizing same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, saying such a referendum would violate the city's Human Rights Act.

“Based upon the written and oral opinions submitted to the board regarding the propriety of the referendum, as well as its own research and consideration of the matter, the board now concludes that the referendum does not present a proper subject of referendum because it would authorize discrimination prohibited under the Human Rights Act,” the board says in a 12-page decision that was released Monday.

The election boa ...

In reversal, HIV ad to appear on movie screens

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

In reversal, HIV ad to appear on movie screens
Ad promotes Oct. 3 AIDS Walk Washington annual fundraising event
By Amy Cavanaugh
Friday, June 19, 2009
A national company that sells advertising to movie theater chains recently rejected an ad from Whitman-Walker Clinic because the clip included a reference to HIV, Clinic officials said last week.

But National CineMedia later reversed its decision and approved the ad for distribution to D.C. area theaters.

The Clinic ad promotes its Oct. 3 AIDS Walk Washington annual fundraising event. The Clinic submitted the ad to National CineMedia to help distribute it to local theaters, but they were told that they could not use “HIV” in the ad.

The ad says that “One in 20 adults in D.C. has HIV,” and the Clinic was told that mentions of sexually t ...

Blade reporter wins investigative journalism award

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

Blade reporter wins investigative journalism award
Honor for Johnson's story on gay military member killed in Iraq
By Staff & Wire Reports
Friday, June 19, 2009
Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson won second place in the D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists' Dateline Awards in the category of best weekly newspaper investigative reporting last week.

Johnson won for a story titled, “Media, military kept soldier in closet after death,” which chronicled the life and death of Alan Rogers, a gay service member killed in Iraq. Other media outlets refused to acknowledge Rogers' sexual orientation in news coverage of his death.

“Chris is an aggressive, tenacious reporter and his award is well deserved, ...

D.C. utility authority to offer DP benefits

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

D.C. utility authority to offer DP benefits
“Across the country, the makeup of families is changing”
By Lou Chibbaro Jr.
Friday, June 19, 2009
The board of directors for the D.C. Water & Sewer Authority, also known as WASA, has voted to offer domestic partnership benefits to its employees hired after 1987, when the federal government relinquished control over D.C. government employee personnel matters.

A spokesperson said the new policy, which the board approved earlier this month, would cover 732 employees and provide the same benefits currently offered to spouses of married employees, including medical, dental and vision related health benefits; life insurance; and family leave related polices.

“Across the country, the makeup of families is changing,” said WASA General Manager Jerry Johnson.< ...

New HIV/AIDS clinic opens in Arlington

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00:00 EST

New HIV/AIDS clinic opens in Arlington
Juniper Program will begin seeing patients Monday
By Chris Johnson
Friday, June 19, 2009
An organization billing itself as Northern Virginia's largest provider of HIV/AIDS care is opening a new clinic in Arlington, Va.

Inova Health System's Juniper Program was set to commemorate the opening of its new facility with a ceremony Wednesday, according to a June 11 statement from the organization. The address of the clinic is 5015 Lee Highway, Suite 100.

Che Parker, spokesperson for the organization, said the clinic would begin seeing patients Monday.

Services that will be provided, according to the statement, include primary medical care, diagnostic and lab services, pregnancy management, medication assistance, nutrition counseling, mental health the ...