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Howard County passes transgender rights bill

Bars bias in employment, housing, and other areas; goes into effect in 60 days

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The Howard County Council voted 4 to 1 Monday night to pass legislation that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and expression in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, financing, and health and social services.

The Councilā€™s action makes Howard the third jurisdiction in Maryland to approve a transgender non-discrimination bill. Montgomery County and Baltimore City have similar laws on the books. The Howard County measure, which is expected to take effect in 60 days, means that about one-third of the stateā€™s residents are covered byĀ non-discrimination protections based on gender identity and expression.

The vote on the bill was divided along partisan lines, with all four Democrats on the Council voting for the bill and the sole Republican, District 5 Council member Greg Fox, voting against it.

ā€œThis is a very happy day here in Howard County,ā€ said Heath Goisovich, an official with Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays [PFLAG] of Howard County, one of two groups that initiated the legislation.

The other group, Gender Rights Maryland, which advocates for transgender rights throughout the state, said approval of the Howard County non-discrimination measure would boost efforts to persuade the Maryland Legislature to pass a gender identity and expression non-discrimination bill next year.

ā€œNow, after much hard work, we have expanded protections in Howard and done so with a broad coalition of support,ā€ said Sharon Brackett, board chair for Gender Rights Maryland. ā€œAs a resident of Howard County I could not be prouder of my Council for taking this issue on.ā€

The bill now goes to the desk of Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, who is expected to sign it. It takes effect 61 days after the signing under the countyā€™s legislative procedures.

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District of Columbia

Capital Pride wins $900,000 D.C. grant to support WorldPride

Funds not impacted by $1 billion budget cut looming over city

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ā€˜Visitors from around the world come toĀ D.C. toĀ experience ourĀ world-classĀ festivals and events,ā€™ said MayorĀ Muriel Bowser. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Capital Pride Alliance, the nonprofit D.C. group organizing WorldPride 2025, this week received a $900,000 grant from the city to help support the multiple events set to take place in D.C. May 17-June 8.

According to an announcement by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Events D.C., the cityā€™s official convention, sports, and events authority, Capital Pride Alliance was one of 11 nonprofit groups organizing 2025 D.C. events to receive grants totaling $3.5 million.

The announcement says the grants are from the cityā€™s Large Event Grant Program, which is managed by Events D.C. It says the grant program is funded by the Office of the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development through a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.

Nina Albert, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, told the Washington Blade that because the grants consist of federal funds already disbursed to the city, they are not impacted by the billion dollar budget cut imposed on the city by Congress earlier this year.

ā€œWorldPride is one of the 11 grantees, and weā€™re really just excited that thereā€™s going to be generated a large crowd and introducing the city to a national and international audience,ā€ Albert said. ā€œAnd we think it is going to be a real positive opportunity.ā€

The statement from the mayorā€™s office announcing the grants says funds from the grants can be used to support expenses associated with hosting large events such as venue rental fees, security, labor costs, equipment and other infrastructure costs.

ā€œAll of those things are things that we do for our major events, including WorldPride,ā€ said Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance. ā€œSo, the resources from this grant will be extremely helpful as we approach the final weeks of preparation of WorldPride Washington, D.C.,ā€ he said.

Bos said Events D.C. has been an important partner in helping to promote WorldPride 2025 since the planning began more than two years ago. ā€œAnd weā€™re excited to have them now support us financially to get us over the finish line and have an amazing event.ā€

Both Bos and Deputy Mayor Albert said WorldPride organizers and D.C. government officials were doing all they can to inform potential visitors from abroad and other parts of the U.S. that the local D.C. government that is hosting WorldPride is highly supportive of the LGBTQ community.

The two said WorldPride organizers and the city are pointing out to potential visitors that the local D.C. government is separate from the Trump administration and members of Congress that have put in place or advocated for policies harmful to the LGBTQ community.

ā€œD.C. is more than the federal city,ā€ Bos told the Blade. ā€œItā€™s more than the White House, more than the Capitol,ā€ he said. ā€œWe have a vibrant, progressive, inclusive community with many neighborhoods and a great culture.ā€

Marcus Allen, an official with Broccoli City, Inc., the group that organizes D.C.ā€™s annual Broccoli City Music Festival, reached out to the Blade to point out that Broccoli City was among the 11 events, along with WorldPride, to receive a D.C. Large Event Grant of $250,000.

Allen said the Broccoli City Festival, which includes performances by musicians and performing artists of interest to African Americans and people of color, is attended by large numbers of LGBTQ people. This yearā€™s festival will be held Aug. 8-10, with its main event taking place at Washington Nationals Stadium.

“Visitors from around the world come to D.C. to experience our world-class festivals and events,” Mayor Bowser said in the grants announcement statement. “These grants help bring that experience to life, with the music, the food, and the spirit of our neighborhoods,” she said. “Together with Events D.C., we’re creating jobs, supporting local talent, and showcasing the vibrancy of our city.” 

The full list of organizations receiving this yearā€™s Large Event grants are:

ā€¢ Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington

ā€¢ National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc.

ā€¢ Asia Heritage Foundation

ā€¢ Capital Pride Alliance

ā€¢ U.S. Soccer Federation

ā€¢ Broccoli City, Inc.

ā€¢ U.S.A. Rugby Football Union

ā€¢ Washington Tennis and Education Foundation

ā€¢ D.C. Jazz Festival

ā€¢ Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

ā€¢ Fiesta D.C., Inc.  

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District of Columbia

Two charged with assaulting, robbing gay man at D.C. CVS store

Incident occurred after suspects, victim ā€˜exchanged wordsā€™ at bar

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D.C. police just after 1 a.m. on April 10 arrested two men for allegedly assaulting and robbing a gay man inside a CVS store at 1418 P St., N.W., according to a police report and charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court.

The charging documents state that the alleged assault and robbery occurred a short time after the three men ā€œexchanged wordsā€ at the gay bar Number 9, which is located across the street from the CVS.

The arrested men are identified in the charging documents as Marquel Jose Diaz, 27, of Northwest D.C., and Lorenzo Jesse Scafidi, 21, of Elizabeth City, N.C. An affidavit in support of the arrest for Diaz says Diaz and the victim ā€œwere previously in a relationship for a year.ā€

Court records show Diaz was charged with Simple Assault, Theft Second Degree, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. The court records show the controlled substance charge was filed by police after Diaz was found to be in possession of a powdered substance that tested positive for cocaine.

Scafidi was charged with Simple Assault and Theft Second Degree, the court records show.

The D.C. police report for the incident does not list it as a suspected hate crime. 

The court records show both men pleaded not guilty to the charges against them at a Superior Court arraignment on the day of their arrest on April 10. The records show they were released by a judge while awaiting trial with an order that they ā€œstay awayā€ from the victim. They are scheduled to return to court for a status hearing on May 21.

The separate police-filed affidavits in support of the arrests of both Diaz and Scafidi each state that the two men and the victim ā€œexchanged wordsā€ inside the Number 9 bar. The two documents state that both men then entered the CVS store after the victim went to the store a short time earlier.

Scafidi ā€œcame into the CVS shortly after and entered the candy aisle and slammed Complainant 1 [the victim] to the ground causing Complainant 1ā€™s phone to fall out of CP-1ā€™s pocket,ā€ one of the two affidavits says. It says Scafidi ā€œagain picked up CP-1 and slammed him to the ground.ā€

The affidavit in support of Diazā€™s arrest says Diaz also followed the victim to the CVS store after words were exchanged at the bar. It says that after Scafidi allegedly knocked the victim down in the candy aisle Diaz picked up the victimā€™s phone, ā€œswung onā€ the victim ā€œwhile he was still on the ground,ā€ and picked up the victimā€™s watch before he and Scafidi fled the scene.

Without saying why, the two arrest affidavits say Diaz and Scafidi returned to the scene and were arrested by police after the victim and at least one witness identified them as having assaulted and robbed the victim.

Attorneys representing the two arrested men did not respond to phone messages from the Washington Blade seeking comment and asking whether their clients dispute the allegations against them.

The victim also did not respond to attempts by the Blade to obtain a comment from him. The police report says the victim is a resident of Fairfax, Va.

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District of Columbia

Bowser calls for ā€˜extraordinaryā€™ response to reduction in D.C. budget

Impact on city funding for LGBTQ programs and grants unclear

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Mayor Muriel Bowser warned of ā€˜significant cuts in District Government services.ā€™ (Screen capture via Forbes Breaking News YouTube)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on April 15 issued an executive order calling for ā€œextraordinary actions,ā€ including ā€œsignificant cuts in District Government services,ā€ to address a decision by Congress to cut the cityā€™s current budget by $1.1 billion.

The nine-page executive order points out that these actions became necessary after the U.S. House of Representatives has so far declined to vote on a free-standing bill approved by the U.S. Senate last month that would restore the $1.1 billion D.C. budget cut initially approved by the House.

In addition to large-scale cuts in city services, the mayoral order says the congressionally imposed city budget cut will bring about city ā€œhiring freezes, financial impacts to employees, reductions and terminations in contracts and grants, and closures of District Government facilities.ā€

The order adds, ā€œThese are unprecedented actions given that the District itself adopted and is able to implement a fully balanced budget, but they are necessary due to the Congressional cut to the Districtā€™s budget and its inaction in timely fixing its legislative error.ā€

The House adjourned this week on a recess until the end of April, and congressional observers say it is unclear whether the majority Republican House will take up the Senate bill to undo the D.C. budget cut when the House returns from its recess. President Donald Trump has called on the House to approve the bill to restore the full D.C. budget.

Among the D.C. LGBTQ organizations and those providing services to the LGBTQ community that receive D.C. government funding and that could be impacted by the budget cuts are Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 set to take place in D.C. next month; and Whitman-Walker Health, one of the cityā€™s largest private healthcare organizations that provides medical services for LGBTQ clients.

Also receiving city funding are the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for LGBTQ people; and the LGBTQ youth advocacy and services organization SMYAL.

Spokespersons for the four organizations couldnā€™t immediately be reached to determine if they knew whether the soon-to-be implemented budget cuts would have an impact on the city funding they currently receive.

In response to questions from news reporters during an April 15 press conference call to discuss the Bowser executive order, Jenny Reed, director of the D.C. Office of Budget and Performance Management, said details on specific programs or funding allocations set to be cut would not be known until the mayor submits to the D.C. Council her Supplemental FY 2025 budget along with her proposed FY 2026 budget.

Reed was joined at the press briefing by Lindsey Parker, Mayor Bowserā€™s chief of staff; and Tomas Talamante, director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

They and other city officials have said the impact of the congressionally imposed city budget cut was expected to be lessened but remain highly problematic by Bowserā€™s decision to invoke a 2009 law that allows the city to increase its own spending without approval by Congress under certain circumstances.

The mayor has said under that law, the city would need to cut its FY 2025 budget by $410 million rather than by $1.1 billion. It couldnā€™t immediately be determined whether House Republicans, who initiated the requirement that the D.C. budget be cut by $1.1 billion, would challenge the mayorā€™s plan to invoke the 2009 law to reduce the size of the budget cut.

ā€œWithout the ability to fully execute the Fiscal Year 2025 budget as adopted and approved by the District, this gap will force reductions in critical services provided by our largest agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department,ā€ the mayorā€™s executive order states.

ā€œThe District will continue to work with members of the House of Representatives to urge them to vote to fully restore the Districtā€™s Fiscal year 2025 budget and will continue to work with President Trump to strongly encourage the House of Representatives to take that action,ā€ the order says.

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