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Delaware House approves same-sex marriage bill

Measure passed by a 23-18 vote margin

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Melanie George Smith, Delaware, gay news, Washington Blade

Melanie George Smith, Delaware, gay news, Washington Blade

State Rep. Melanie George Smith (D-Bear) sponsored Delaware’s civil unions bill in the state House of Representatives. (Photo courtesy of Delaware House Majority Caucus.)

The Delaware House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow same-sex marriage in the First State.

The 23-18 vote took place less than a week after the House Administrative Committee advanced House Bill 75 to the full chamber.

State Rep. Melanie George Smith (D-Bear,) who formally introduced the measure on April 11, stressed before the vote the bill protects religious freedom.

ā€œThe bill allows freedom for churches that want to perform same-sex marriage and churches that don’t,ā€ she said.

Equality Delaware Foundation President Mark Purpura told state Rep. Steve Smyk (R-Milton) during his testimony in support of HB 75 that extending marriage rights to same-sex couples in Delaware is about “equal status.”

“It’s about equal treatment under the law,” Purpura said. “Marriage is the ultimate commitment that two people can make to each other.”

Nicole Theis of the Delaware Family Policy Council reiterated during her testimony in opposition to HB 75 that she feels the state’s civil unions law affords same-sex couples the same benefits that heterosexual couples receive through marriage. State Rep. Tim Dukes, who is a pastor at the Central Worship Center in Laurel in Sussex County, agreed.

ā€œThe state offers the most extensive civil unions law in the country,” he said before the vote. “The truth is it hasn’t been taken advantage of.ā€

Neighboring Maryland is among the nine states and D.C. that currently allow same-sex marriage.

Governor Jack Markell; Attorney General Beau Biden; U.S. Sens. Chris Coons and Tom Carper; Congressman John Carney; New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon; Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory; Rev. Donald Morton of the Black Clergy Consortium of Delaware and John Fluharty, the gay executive director of the Delaware Republican Party, are among those who support nuptials for gays and lesbians in the First State.

“This is a huge step forward for equality in Delaware,” Biden said in a statement. “Everyone is equal under the law, and all Delawareans should be free to marry the person they love.”

The bill now goes to the state Senate.

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Maryland

A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center

Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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Tavish Forsyth, a queer artist and educator, posted a nude video on YouTube in protest of the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.

So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.

ā€œF—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,ā€ a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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District of Columbia

Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw

School teacher, D.C. resident praised for ā€˜warmth, humor, kindness’

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Patrick Shaw (Photo via GoFundMe)

Co-workers and friends will hold a celebration of life for highly acclaimed schoolteacher and D.C. resident Patrick Shaw beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at The Little Gay Pub 1100 P St., N.W.

Little Gay Pub co-owner and Shaw’s friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.

ā€œPatrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,ā€ Martinez said. ā€œHe was a truly special soul – funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.ā€

In an Instagram posting, Shaw’s colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.’s Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.

ā€œPatrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,ā€ his colleagues said in their posting. ā€œHis daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.ā€

The posted message adds, ā€œPatrick was more than a teacher; he was a light in our school, inspiring us all to show up with heart, humor, and kindness every day. His spirit will be deeply missed.ā€

The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon. 

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District of Columbia

D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case

Victim threatened with assault, called ā€˜faggot’ as he left Capitals game

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D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera.

D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera after he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs and threatened to assault a man at 6th and H Streets, N.W. on March 20 at about 9:54 p.m.

A police report says the victim told police the incident took place shortly after he exited the nearby Capital One Arena where he had attended a Washington Capitals hockey game.

The police report says the incident began when the victim saw the suspect yell a racist slur at a person behind the victim and started to berate a valet operator.

ā€œSuspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a ā€˜faggot’ among other homophobic slurs,ā€ the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and ā€œsnatchingā€ the phone from the victim’s hand.

ā€œSuspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,ā€ the report continues. ā€œSuspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed ā€˜if you keep recording, I’m going to kick your ass.ā€™ā€ The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.

It lists the incident as a ā€œThreats To Do Bodily Harmā€ offense that is a suspected hate crime.

ā€œAnyone who can identify this suspect or has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099, or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411,ā€ according to a separate police statement released April 23.

The statement says police currently offer an award of up to $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.

D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the case has been under investigation since the incident occurred on March 20. He said the video image of the suspect, most likely obtained from a security camera from a nearby business, was released to the public as soon as it was obtained and processed through the investigation.

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