Local
D.C. has marriage, so now what?
Despite successes, activists say ‘we have not overcome yet’
Aisha Mills, president of the Campaign for All D.C. Families, said LGBT activists cannot ‘rest on our laurels’ despite recent successes. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
When the weddings for same-sex couples began in the District of Columbia on March 9, many in the community hailed the occasion as the capstone of the city’s decades-old LGBT rights movement.
The District government’s enactment of a same-sex marriage law in December and Congress’s decision not to stop it follows a long list of existing city laws and policies that protect LGBT people from discrimination, some of which were approved more than 30 years ago.
With this as a backdrop, some in the community wondered whether the same-sex marriage law marked the completion of the LGBT rights movement within the city, enabling activists to move on to other causes and endeavors.
But an informal Washington Blade survey of local LGBT activists conducted over the past two weeks shows that virtually all those contacted believe a wide range of LGBT-related problems and concerns remain on the agenda of local advocacy groups.
“There’s still so much work to be done,” said veteran D.C. gay and Ward 8 community activist Phil Pannell. “We have not overcome yet.”
Pannell and others involved with local LGBT organizations pointed to alarmingly high rates of HIV infection among D.C. men who have sex with men, the city’s unwelcome status of having the nation’s highest rate of reported anti-LGBT hate crimes, and its distinction of being one of the few major U.S. cities that fails to provide ongoing city funds for its LGBT community center.
The same contingent of activists expressed caution that the fight for same-sex marriage in the city is not yet over. They noted that a lawsuit seeking to force the city to hold a voter initiative calling for repealing the law is scheduled to come up for a hearing May 4 before the D.C. Court of Appeals.
City attorneys, who have already won several earlier court challenges to the marriage law, say they are optimistic the city will ultimately win its case in defending a provision of its initiative and referendum law that bans ballot measures seeking to take away rights from minority groups.
That law, which gay activists persuaded the City Council to pass in the late 1970s, has so far spared the city a divisive ballot fight over gay marriage that has rocked other states, including California and Maine.
“We still have to stay vigilant and make sure we are actively monitoring what will come down through the courts,” said Aisha Mills, president of the Campaign for All D.C. Families, one of the lead groups that lobbied for the city’s same-sex marriage law.
“And we also know that Congress still has an opportunity to get involved and intervene in D.C. in a number of ways,” she said, pointing to Congress’s authority to overturn a D.C. law at any time, including through its process of approving the city’s annual appropriations bill.
“We are not going to be able to rest on our laurels and be safe and secure in having marriage at least, I would say, for another year or two or even longer,” she said.
Veteran D.C. gay activist Bob Summersgill, who is credited with mapping the strategy for passing a same-sex marriage law, said he, too, is hopeful that a ballot measure seeking to repeal the law will be defeated in court. However, he noted that Congress could always exert its authority to force the city to put the issue before the voters.
“The Democrats will not hold both houses [of Congress] forever, and it is unlikely that any Republicans will back marriage equality in D.C. if they gain a majority,” Summersgill said. “The longer that they are put off, the safer we are, but we must be prepared to fight a ballot initiative.”
On other matters, Summersgill and Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, point to GLAA’s 21-page 2008 LGBT Agenda, or policy paper for D.C., which describes a wide range of issues that the group believes are related to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender city residents.
Rosendall said the group is updating the Agenda document in time to present it to candidates running in this year’s mayoral and City Council races.
“Marriage equality is only part of one of six sections in our policy paper,” Rosendall said.
In addition to addressing LGBT families, Rosendall said the document lists LGBT-related concerns over public safety, including the Police and Fire and Emergency Medical Services Departments and the Department of Corrections; public health, including AIDS; human and civil rights; education and youth; and consumer and business issues.
“Even if we achieve equality on paper — and we have a long way to go in some of these areas — continued vigilance is required to ensure that good policies are put into practice,” he said.
Among the specific issues addressed in the document are bullying of LGBT youth in the city’s public schools “while adult authority figures often look the other way,” lack of social services for transgender residents, and a local health care system that doesn’t sufficiently serve lesbians.
The GLAA Agenda document is available online at the organization’s web site, glaa.org.
Lesbian Democratic activist Barbara Helmick cited a litany of issues similar to those raised in the GLLA Agenda document, but said that local activists should go a step further by joining others in the community to push for changes in federal law.
Of particular concern to same-sex married couples, she said, is the existing federal law barring them from obtaining Social Security spousal benefits given to straight married couples.
“I think with our unique seat right here with the federal government down the street, the local community becoming active in that campaign would have enormous benefits for many of our married couples here in the city as well as married couples throughout the country,” she said.
David Mariner, executive director of the D.C. LGBT Community Center, said many of the LGBT-related social services programs that groups like GLAA seek to improve are performed in other cities by LGBT community centers.
Pointing to a call by activists in Philadelphia for “brick and mortar” projects and programs for LGBT youth, seniors and other vulnerable populations, Mariner said the D.C. LGBT Center has the ability to house or operate such programs if the city helps fund the center.
“We are the only major U.S. city that doesn’t have a permanent building for our local LGBT Community Center,” Mariner said. “In our short time at 1810 14th St., N.W., we’ve seen what is possible when we have an appropriate facility. Unfortunately, we will have to leave this facility, possibly as soon as this summer, and our future is uncertain.”
Mariner was referring to a lease the Center has for a building formerly used by the Whitman-Walker Clinic. The building is owned by a real estate development company that plans to demolish it to build a new condominium and office complex. The Washington Blade offices also are located in the building.
Brian Watson, director of programs for the non-profit social services group Transgender Health Empowerment, and longtime transgender activist Earline Budd, an outreach worker for the group, both said the community’s work in addressing transgender issues is far from complete.
The two pointed to the organization’s Wanda Alston House for LGBT youth, which provides temporary housing and social services to gay and trans youth. Due to city budget cuts, the Alston House lost a sizable portion of its city funding, requiring THE to reduce services to the youth staying at the house.
“Homelessness in our community is mostly invisible,” Budd said. “One of my priorities for our movement is to find out how we can reach the social and economically disadvantaged in our community.”
Gay Democratic activist Peter Rosenstein said an important part of the community’s continuing agenda should be making sure the mayor and city agencies properly implement LGBT-related laws and policies already on the books. He noted that agencies such as the public school system haven’t been aggressive enough in carrying out anti-bullying polices, for example.
“We may also need to legislate action” requiring the agencies to better carry out such programs, he said.
Carlene Cheatam, a same-sex marriage advocate and longtime member of the D.C. Coalition of Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Men & Women before recently stepping aside from the group, called for a fundamental change in the LGBT movement’s approach on the local level.
Instead of working mostly within specific LGBT groups that limit their work to LGBT-specific issues, Cheatam said activists should become fully involved in their local communities and integrate LGBT advocacy into the broader community.
“I have always thought that the community does it wrong,” she said. “I feel the community does it separate from other issues and the broader community. … You can’t just go to the straight community and say let’s talk about LGBT.”
She said a small number of LGBT people who are involved in their local communities work on broader, non-LGBT issues as well as LGBT issues.
“But as an agenda, the community does not get involved in something that’s not LGBT,” she said. “And yet we expect our allies to support us. … And so what I want is for the LGBT community to become part of the broader community and participate, support other people, other communities to establish allies.”
Cheatam also said that LGBT people who take a low profile in their involvement in the broader community should be fully out and self identified as LGBT.
“This also helps other people who are in the closet to see LGBT [people] who are visible, who are cleaning up neighborhood alleys with the gay T-shirt on. You can see that from your window and say, ‘Wow, they’re able to be out and in the neighborhood.’
“That’s my wish for the community.”
District of Columbia
Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington to celebrate Spring Affair honorees
‘Their work inspires our music and deepens our mission’
For 44 years, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington (GMCW) has served as a powerful voice for love, unity, and pride among Washington’s LGBTQ community and its allies. Since its first performance in 1981—at the opening of the National Gay Task Force’s Washington office (later becoming the National LGBTQ Task Force)—GMCW has built a politically engaged and culturally significant legacy as one of the nation’s foremost LGBTQ performing arts organizations.
As its music and mission evolved, GMCW deepened its involvement in supporting LGBTQ individuals and allies alike. In 2004, the chorus launched its first Spring Affair fundraiser. This annual event not only generates financial support for the inclusive choral group, but also honors individuals and organizations in the Washington community who exemplify GMCW’s mission of unity, equity, and empowerment through music.
Each year at the Spring Affair gala, the chorus honors one community leader, one external organization, and one GMCW member. For the 2025 gala, GMCW will recognize Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, Atlas Performing Arts Center, and GMCW member Keygan Miller.
“These honorees remind us why we sing,” said Thea Kano, artistic director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC, in an email. “In moments when our community has needed strength, they’ve offered hope. Whether it’s a brave voice from the pulpit, a tireless advocate for our youth, or an organization that opens its doors to every story—each has chosen to lead with love, truth, and courage. Their work inspires our music and deepens our mission.”
GMCW will honor Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, the first woman elected to lead the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, as its 2025 individual award recipient. A longtime champion of equity and inclusion, Bishop Budde gained national prominence during the Inaugural Prayer Service at Washington National Cathedral, where she spoke directly to newly sworn-in President Donald Trump.
“Have mercy, Mr. President,” she implored, lifting the hopes of the most vulnerable Americans targeted by Trump’s policies—particularly LGBTQ and immigrant communities. Her bold words signaled to the nation that she remains a genuine and outspoken voice for justice, unity, and truth, inspiring compassion and faith within and beyond her religious community.
GMCW will present the Harmony Award for an Organization to the Atlas Performing Arts Center, located in the historic H Street, N.E. corridor. In 2024 alone, Atlas hosted more than 400 events and provided $1.6 million in free and discounted tickets, arts education, community programming, and space use. Through this work, Atlas has amplified “artistic voices that reflect the full diversity of our community.”
The center has long partnered with GMCW, offering space for open mic nights, cabarets, GenOUT Chorus events like the Youth Summit, and even memorial services such as that for Bobby T. Boaz. Atlas exemplifies GMCW’s mission of storytelling, equity, and civic connection through programs like the INTERSECTIONS Festival and City at Peace.
“We are absolutely thrilled and deeply honored that the Atlas Performing Arts Center has been named a recipient of the GMCW Harmony Award! This recognition is a powerful affirmation of our commitment to uplifting voices, fostering inclusive creative expression, and building a space where everyone feels seen, heard, and celebrated,” said Jarrod Bennett, Executive Director of the Atlas Performing Arts Center.
“At the Atlas, our mission is rooted in the belief that the arts are for everyone—and that through performance, dialogue, and community, we can help shape a more just, compassionate world. To be acknowledged by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC—an organization that has long stood at the forefront of championing equality and advancing the well-being of the LGBTQ+ community—is a profound and humbling honor. We continue to be inspired by GMCW’s work and are proud to stand alongside them in this shared vision. Thank you, GMCW, for this beautiful recognition. We carry it forward with gratitude and renewed energy for the work ahead.”
Finally, GMCW will honor Keygan Miller, a chorus member since 2017, for their leadership, advocacy, and commitment to equity both onstage and off. Within GMCW, Miller served as Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion, led conversations to expand trans inclusion, authored the “Day One” pledge, and played a critical role in shaping inclusive programming.
Outside the chorus, Miller serves as Director of Public Training for The Trevor Project, a national nonprofit focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth under 25. They previously worked as an Advocacy Manager at the Trevor Project, where they championed policies protecting LGBTQ+ youth at every level of government.
As GMCW continues its mission to uplift and unite through music, the organization encourages new voices to join its ranks. GMCW welcomes all singers—regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation—who can sing in the lower vocal registers.
The 2025 Spring Affair Gala will take place on May 17, 2025, at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. This annual benefit supports GMCW’s artistic and educational programming. For tickets, audition information, and more, visit GMCW.org.
District of Columbia
Activists stage reenactment of 1965 gay rights protest at White House
Event marked 60th anniversary of historic picketing
With dozens of tourists watching, a little over two dozen LGBTQ activists walked in a circular picket line carrying “homosexual rights” signs on the sidewalk in front of the White House on April 17 in a reenactment of the historic 1965 first gay rights protest outside the White House.
Organized by D.C.’s Rainbow History Project, the event marked the 60th anniversary of the 1965 protest, which was organized by gay rights pioneers Frank Kameny and Lilli Vincenz on behalf of the Mattachine Society of Washington, one of D.C.’s first gay rights groups that Kameny co-founded in the early 1960s.
“The White House picket is the origin story for public demonstrations for gay rights in the U.S., and the origin story for Pride marches and the annual LGBTQ Pride celebrations which occur across the globe,” according to a leaflet prepared by Rainbow History Project that participants in the reenactment handed out to passersby and tourists.
Among those participating in the reenactment protest was longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate Paul Kuntzler, who is the last known survivor of the 1965 White House gay rights protest. Kuntzler carried a replica of the sign he said he carried at the 1965 protest, which states, “Fifteen Million U.S. Homosexuals Protest Federal Treatment.”
Other signs carried by participants stated, “Homosexuals Died for Their Country, Too;” “White House Refuses Replies To Our Letters – Afraid Of Us?”; “Cuba’s Government Persecutes Homosexuals, U.S. Government Beats Them To It;” “Homosexuals are American Citizens, Too.”
The leaflet that participants distributed at the April 17 reenactment, which includes a photo of the 1965 event, lists what it says were the four main demands issued by the Mattachine Society of Washington in 1965.
They called for an end to “the exclusion of homosexuals from federal employment,” an end to the ban on gays from serving in the U.S. military, an end to the “blanket denial of security clearances for gay people,” and an end to the government’s refusal to meet with the LGBTQ community or to reply to their letters.
The leaflet includes an excerpt from a letter that Kameny wrote to then-President Lyndon B. Johnson around the time of the 1965 protest.
“We ask you, Mr. President, for what all American citizens – singly and collectively – have the right to ask,” the letter states. “That our problems be given fair, unbiased consideration…consideration in which we, ourselves, are allowed to participate actively and are invited to do so.”
The leaflet notes that although Kameny died in 2011 and Vincenz died in 2023, “their legacy is carried on by modern LGBTQ+ rights activists, who continue to advocate for employment opportunities, legal protections, inclusive health services, and more.”
Rainbow History Project official Vincent Slatt, one of the lead organizers of the reenactment protest, said his group had no trouble obtaining a permit from the National Park Service to hold the event outside the White House.
“I think the picket is going very, very well today,” he said while watching the picketers on the White House sidewalk. “We have a couple of dozen people participating. And there are lots of tourists engaging,” he said. “We’re handing out pamphlets to let them know about the historic picket and the importance of learning LGBT history.”
Slatt added, “But the highest impact is really that the media showed up to spread awareness of this.”
Lesbian activist Leticia Gomez, while walking on the White House picket line at the reenactment event, said she was among those who benefited from the 1965 protest and those that followed in support of LGBTQ rights.
“I’m blessed,” she said. “I got to work 34 years for the federal government as an out lesbian in the Department of the Navy,” she told the Blade. “So, because of what they did and all the other protests that came after that, it allowed me to have the career that I had.”
Also walking the picket line at the April 17 reenactment event was Deacon Maccubbin, owner of the former D.C. LGBTQ bookstore Lambda Rising and organizer of D.C.’s first Gay Pride Day event in 1975.
“It was really wonderful to be here today after 60 years,” he said. “I wasn’t at the first one,” he told the Blade. “But it’s just wonderful that this happened in 1965. It started the ball rolling, and all the progress that we’ve made, the fact that we do gay Pride every year in D.C. – all of those are dependent on this demonstration that got started in 1965.”
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
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 city’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 city’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.
“WorldPride is one of the 11 grantees, and we’re really just excited that there’s going to be generated a large crowd and introducing the city to a national and international audience,” Albert said. “And we think it is going to be a real positive opportunity.”
The statement from the mayor’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.
“All of those things are things that we do for our major events, including WorldPride,” said Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance. “So, the resources from this grant will be extremely helpful as we approach the final weeks of preparation of WorldPride Washington, D.C.,” 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. “And we’re excited to have them now support us financially to get us over the finish line and have an amazing event.”
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.
“D.C. is more than the federal city,” Bos told the Blade. “It’s more than the White House, more than the Capitol,” he said. “We have a vibrant, progressive, inclusive community with many neighborhoods and a great culture.”
Marcus Allen, an official with Broccoli City, Inc., the group that organizes D.C.’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 year’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 year’s Large Event grants are:
• Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington
• National Cherry Blossom Festival, Inc.
• Asia Heritage Foundation
• Capital Pride Alliance
• U.S. Soccer Federation
• Broccoli City, Inc.
• U.S.A. Rugby Football Union
• Washington Tennis and Education Foundation
• D.C. Jazz Festival
• Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
• Fiesta D.C., Inc.
“Events DC is focused on creating unique experiences that result in jobs, economic impact, and lasting memories for residents, tourists, and guests,” said Events DC President and CEO Angie M. Gates in the announcement statement. “Through the Large Event Grant Program, we will support even more remarkable events this year that build community connections, celebrate our distinctive culture, and contribute to our economy.”
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