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O’Malley reiterates marriage pledge
Equality Maryland endorses Maryland governor
Gov. Martin O’Malley told Equality Maryland supporters this week that he would sign a marriage equality bill if re-elected and the legislature passes it. (Washington Blade photo by Brandon Waggoner)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Equality Maryland officially gave its endorsement to Gov. Martin O’Malley at its ninth annual signature gala Sunday night.
“The governor has a strong record from his days on the City Council, as mayor and as governor,” Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland, said in endorsing O’Malley in next week’s election. “The choice is clear – the former governor who did not even believe that same-sex couples should be able to visit each other in the hospital or our current governor who has pledged to sign both of our key initiatives?”
O’Malley, a Democrat, who is running for re-election against former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich, was one of the special guests at the gala, which was held at the Samuel Riggs Alumni Center at the University of Maryland in College Park.
“Two different governors, two different choices,” O’Malley repeated throughout his speech to nearly 400 attendees, referring to policy decisions made by Ehrlich and his decisions on the same topics, such as hospital visitation rights. “I’m running against the alternative.”
Each time O’Malley mentioned his opponent’s name, attendees showed their displeasure by hissing in response. He urged everyone to vote and to make sure their friends and family vote as well.
“Do not believe these polls,” O’Malley said, adding they were only accurate if everyone actually went out and voted.
The governor addressed same-sex marriage during a debate last week with Ehrlich sponsored by the Washington Post.
“I stood with [Attorney General] Doug Gansler on recognizing out-of-state marriages,” O’Malley said. “When the General Assembly passes an equality bill, a bill regardless of labels, that protects equal rights, I will sign it so long as it has religious protections.”
O’Malley has a complicated history on marriage rights. After initially supporting marriage equality, he backtracked in 2007, after the state high court ruled against same-sex marriage in Maryland. That year, he told the Blade in an exclusive interview that he supported civil unions but would sign a marriage equality bill if the legislature passed it. He has reiterated that pledge during this year’s campaign, while maintaining his support for civil unions.
The audience seemed happy about O’Malley’s remarks, cheering and clapping throughout his speech.
“I was pleased. He specifically mentioned his commitment to ensuring that the state’s anti-bullying law is fully enforced, which in light of the tragic deaths of so many young, LGBT people in recent months is more important than ever,” Meneses-Sheets said. “ But most important, he talked about equal treatment under the law for all Marylanders and all families.”
O’Malley mentioned Tyler Clementi in his speech before reminding attendees that he signed a bill creating an anti-bullying policy in 2008, which set standards for all public school systems in the state.
O’Malley did not take questions from the media after his speech.
Gansler followed O’Malley and gave a short speech, saying the governor and his wife are 100 percent behind the issues Equality Maryland is fighting for.
Gansler received a standing ovation when after saying it was great that out-of-state marriages were recognized, added, “It is absurd people can’t get married here in Maryland.”
Lea Gilmore and Scott Davenport were both honored at the gala as part of the program. Gilmore was awarded Ally of the Year and her husband accepted the award, reading an e-mail she sent from Germany.
Davenport, president of Equality Maryland, received the Legacy Award for his work with the organization and outside of it.
“Trust me, everything can be fixed, I know that, I have kids,” Davenport joked when he dropped his award and it broke.
Davenport also donated $20,000 to hire a lobbyist for the upcoming legislative session, on the condition that the organization raise funds to match his donation.
Immediately after this announcement, attendees began shouting out donation amounts, including Meneses-Sheets.
They raised at least $20,500 from those donations. Equality Maryland is still working on figuring out how much was raised from tickets to the event and the silent auction.
Officials from Equality Maryland described the event as a success.
“The room was bursting at the seams,” Meneses-Sheets said. “We had more state and local lawmakers than ever come out and stand with us. We had a great program demonstrating our ties to communities of faith, communities of color, labor and our statewide elected officials. But most important, people had fun and left inspired to keep up the fight.”
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
“You know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,” Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
“It was a great year,” he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.”
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimore’s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women “navigating survival mode” living.
“Through compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,” the statement says. “Our programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,” it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
“This is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,” a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. “Iya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,” it says. “This honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.”
Baltimore
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Pride’s LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This year’s Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people — record attendance that far exceeded initial projections of 100,000.
But some see room for improvement and want organizers to address safety issues and make changes so the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ population is better run.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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