Local
Md. lieutenant guv backs marriage bill
Anthony Brown believes bill would survive voter referendum
In his first public remarks on same-sex marriage, Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown told the Washington Blade Wednesday that he supports marriage equality for lesbians and gays and favors the approval of a same-sex marriage bill pending in the Maryland Legislature.
LGBT activists believe Brown, a Prince George’s County Democrat who is considered a potential candidate for governor in 2014, could play a key role in defending the marriage bill against a voter referendum in 2012 if the legislature passes it this year, as most political observers expect.
“I have always believed that all Marylanders should have an equality of rights and responsibilities and that includes marriage equality,” he said in an exclusive interview.
“So regardless of gender, we should be able to choose who it is that we are going to marry and hopefully spend the rest of our lives with. And so I’m supportive of that,” he said.
Brown said he has friends and acquaintances who are in same-sex relationships and he has seen first-hand how they are “successfully raising children,” a development that has helped shape his views on the marriage issue.
Brown’s expression of support for the marriage bill came on the same day that Republican State Sen. Allan Kittleman announced he was dropping plans to introduce a civil unions bill and would vote instead for the marriage bill.
Some LGBT activists viewed a civil unions bill as a possible competing measure that might have derailed the marriage bill.
The decision by Kittleman, the former Senate minority leader, to abandon plans to introduce a civil unions bill and to back the marriage measure, and Brown’s firm statement backing same-sex marriage, are likely to be viewed by LGBT activists as a major boost for the marriage measure.
Up until now, Brown had not taken a public stand on the marriage bill, although his press secretary, Mike Raia, said Brown had informed colleagues and friends of his support for the measure.
“The lieutenant governor’s statement comes as a surprise, but certainly a welcome surprise,” said Lisa Polyak, a board member and spokesperson for Equality Maryland, the statewide LGBT group leading efforts to pass the bill.
“We’re grateful for all elected officials, especially those in leadership roles, who understand that our families seek equal treatment under the law,” she said. “And we welcome the lieutenant governor’s joining the coalition to achieve civil marriage for same-sex couples.”
Gov. Martin O’Malley has said he would sign a same-sex marriage measure approved by the legislature. And most political observers in the state say supporters of the bill have the votes to get it through the legislature.
Before being named by O’Malley as his running mate in the 2006 gubernatorial race, Brown had served two terms in the Maryland House of Delegates from P.G. County. During his second term, Brown was named the House of Delegates’ majority whip, a leadership post that enabled him to build a good working relationship with his fellow lawmakers.
Noting that his job as whip involved “counting heads” to determine the support of various bills, Brown said he believes the marriage measure has solid support in the House of Delegates and appears to enjoy a “slim majority” in the Senate.
Asked what he thinks the chances are for opponents to place the marriage bill before the voters in a referendum, Brown said he believes a referendum on the issue will make it to the ballot, but he thinks voters will uphold the law rather than overturn it.
“It’s not a high hurdle in Maryland to get an issue on the ballot,” he said. “So it would be on the ballot for 2012 during the presidential campaign. There’s going to be a lot of voter turnout as we typically see in presidential campaigns. No doubt, like other referenda, it’s going to be hotly contested and debated.”
Brown added, “As I said today, my position is in support [of the marriage bill]. As we approach 2012 I’ll certainly evaluate what role I’m going to play on that issue.”
As a prominent black elected official, LGBT advocates for the marriage bill would likely seek Brown’s help in campaigning for the bill in a referendum fight in his home turf of majority black P.G. County. In California in 2008, exit polls showed that a majority of black voters supported overturning that state’s same-sex marriage law in the bitterly fought ballot measure known as Proposition 8.
“I think Prince George’s County, which is predominantly African American, should not be viewed as a monolithic entity or county or community,” Brown said. “I think we’re going to get varying degrees of support and varying degrees of opposition. We know from public comments that many of the traditional civil rights organizations have come out in support of it,” he said, referring to the same-sex marriage bill.
“We also know that a number of members of the clergy from the African-American churches have come out or spoke against it,” he said. “So there’s not a clear or I should say single voice in Prince George’s County on this issue as I suspect is true in most all of the large counties in Maryland.”
Brown was asked what he thought of assertions by Bishop Harry Jackson, a Maryland minister who led efforts to oppose D.C.’s same-sex marriage law. Jackson and his supporters, among other things, argued that same-sex unions endanger black families because they undermine traditional marriage.
“Well, my only response, and this is not a response to the impact on black families, white families, or any other families,” he said. “My response to that is I have had experience through friendships and acquaintances with couples – same-sex couples – who are successfully raising children. And that’s in a number or variety of racial or ethnic backgrounds. So I have difficulty understanding that comment.”
Brown’s official biography on the Maryland State website shows that he has served in the Army since 1984 both on active duty and currently in the reserves. He served a 10-month tour in Iraq as part of a Multi-National Force in 2004 that provided humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. In 2007 he was promoted to the rank of colonel and, as an attorney with a degree from Harvard Law School, he currently commands a Pennsylvania-based Army Legal Support unit.
With that as a backdrop, Brown was asked what he thought of the successful effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the law that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
“Well, first I’ll say I couldn’t be more proud of our president for moving forward on the elimination of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and recognizing full membership, if you will, in uniform services of men and women regardless of who they choose to be in a relationship with,” he said. “So I’m proud of that and I think it’s a big step forward for the armed forces and it’s a big step forward for our country.”
Added Brown, “And I will also say that after 26 years of active and reserve duty, I’d be kidding people if I told them that I never encountered a soldier who didn’t tell me that they were gay. And yet I have observed these soldiers performing their duty patriotically with the same level of diligence and commitment and that their preference had no relevance to their performance of their military duties.”
When asked about a transgender non-discrimination bill that was introduced last week into the House of Delegates with 55 co-sponsors, Brown didn’t disclose whether he has a position on the measure.
“I’m not familiar with that one,” he said. “I know I’ve dealt with some transgender bills when I was on the House Judiciary Committee, but this one in particular I’m not familiar with.”
Maryland
Silver Spring holds annual Pride In The Plaza
‘Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience’
Silver Spring’s annual Pride in the Plaza event took place on Sunday to celebrate the LGBTQ community and emphasize inclusion and resilience.
“Today means inclusion. It means to build resilience, love,” Robyn Woods, program and outreach director for Live In Your Truth, which organized the event, said. “I mean, just being surrounded by the community and so many great entrepreneurs, business owners, and just being a part of this whole rainbow coalition that we call the LGBTQIA to be about.”
With the event being her first time organizing for Live In Your Truth, Woods said she felt emotional to see the support and love at the event.
“Some people (are) bringing out their children, their babies, their grandparents,” Woods said. “It’s a lot more allies here than anything else. That type of support to me means so much more than just support from my community; just outside support, inside support, so much support around it, so much love. Everyone’s smiling outside, helping each other.”
Attendees of the event were able to head over to the Family Fun Zone, an air-conditioned Pride Cool Down Lounge, or watch live drag performances in the main stage area.
Along with entertainment and a shaved-ice stand, rows of information tables stood along the plaza, including FreeState Justice, the Washington Spirit, Trans Maryland, Moco Pride Center, and the Heartwood Program, an organization that offers support, therapy, education, and resources to the LGBTQ community.
“I want people to know about our services, and I love what we have to offer,” Jessica Simon, psychotherapist for Heartwood Program’s Gender Wellness Clinic, said. “I (also) want to be part of a celebration with the community, and so it feels good to be here with other people who have something they want to give to the community.”
She added that within today’s political climate, to which she called an “antidote to shame,” it’s important to be celebrating Pride.
“There’s a lot of demonization of LGBTQI people,” Siena Iacuvazzi, facilitator for Maryland Trans Unity, said. “(Pride) is part of the healing process.”
Iacuvazzi said she was taught to be ashamed of who she was growing up, but being a part of a community helped her flourish in the future.
“I was taught how to hate myself. I was taught that I was an abomination to God,” she said. “But being a community is like understanding that there are people who have experienced the same thing, and they’re flourishing. They’re flourishing because they’re willing to stand up for themselves as human beings and discover themselves and understand what’s true for themselves.”
She added that Pride allows for a mutual understanding to take place.
“It’s more of a sense of belonging … and just taking that home and understanding you’re not alone,” Iacuvazzi said. “We’re each taking our own journey — we’re not putting that on each other. It’s just walking away with a sense of belonging and humanity.”
Similar to Iacuvazzi, Woods said she hopes attendees’ biggest takeaways would be family, fun, resilience, and pride.
“Being proud of yourself, being happy for who you are, and representation and how much it matters,” she continued. “And I think all these young people that are walking around here get to see versions of themselves, but older. They get to see so many different lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual people that are successful, that are showing love, that care, and it’s not how we’re portrayed in the media. It’s lovely to see it out here. (It’s) like we’re one big old, happy family.”
Virginia
Spanberger touts equality, reproductive rights in Arlington
Democratic Va. gubernatorial nominee made campaign stop at Freddie’s Beach Bar
With the general election heating up and LGBTQ rights under increasing threat nationwide, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger brought her “Span Virginia Bus Tour” to Arlington’s Freddie’s Beach Bar for a campaign stop filled with cheers, policy pledges, and community spirit.
Spanberger, who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 through early 2025 for Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, also served as a federal law enforcement officer specializing in narcotics and money laundering cases, and as a CIA case officer working on counterterrorism and nuclear counterproliferation.
Spanberger is running against Republican nominee Winsome Earle-Sears, the current lieutenant governor of Virginia, who said she was “morally opposed” to a bill protecting marriage equality in the commonwealth.
She was joined by other Democratic candidates and supporters: lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Ghazala Hashmi, attorney general candidate Jay Jones, Virginia state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), and Congressman Don Beyer.
Freddie’s was packed wall-to-wall with supporters, many of whom wore “Spanberger for Virginia” shirts in the progressive Pride flag colors. In her speech, she made it clear that LGBTQ Virginians’ rights are on the ballot this year.
“I’m so excited to be here, and I am so grateful to the entire staff of Freddy’s for letting us overtake this incredible venue that is not just an awesome place to come together in community, but is a symbol to so many people of joy, of happiness, of community and of celebrating our friends and our neighbors,” Spanberger told the packed restaurant. “It is exciting to be here, and particularly during this Pride month, and particularly as we reflect on the 10-year anniversary of Obergefell and the reality that we still have so much work to do.”
“The reality is there are so many people who still would be inclined to take us backwards,” she said. “In this moment when we see attacks on people’s rights, on people’s humanity, on Virginia, on our economy, on research, on public education, on food security, on health care, on Virginians, on their jobs, on public service and on people — it can get heavy.”
“What it does for me is it makes me want to double down, because once upon a time, when I was talking to my mother about some horror show or sequence of activities coming out of a particular administration, she did not really have the patience to listen to me and said ‘Abigail, let your rage fuel you’ — and the conversation was over. And so I reflect on that, because, in fact, every day there is so much fuel to be had in this world and in this moment.”
One of the points Spanberger continued to emphasize was the importance of steadfast state government officials following the election of President Donald Trump, which has led to rollbacks of LGBTQ and bodily autonomy rights as a result of the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court.
“What the past few years have shown us is that a Supreme Court decision, no matter how many years we have celebrated its existence, does not protect us in the long term. And so as governor, I will work to make sure that every protection we can put in place for the dignity, the value, and the equal rights of all Virginians is a priority.”
During her speech, Spanberger highlighted several of the key values driving her campaign — protecting reproductive freedom and human rights, lowering healthcare costs, safeguarding Virginia’s environment, and ensuring that public education is affordable, accessible, and rooted in truth, not politics.
Spanberger went as far as to say that she wants to amend the state’s constitution to remove Section 15-A. “The reality is that in Virginia, we still have a ban in our state constitution on marriage equality. It is of the utmost urgency that we move forward with our constitutional amendment.”
“We will work to ensure that that terrible constitutional amendment, that was put in years ago, is taken out and updated and ensuring that Virginia is reflective in our most essential documents of who we are as a commonwealth, which is an accepting place that celebrates the vibrancy of every single person and recognizes that all Virginians have a place, both in that constitution and in law,” she added.
Following the event, two supporters spoke to the Washington Blade about why they had come out to support Spanberger.
“I came out because I needed to show support for this ticket, because it has been a particularly rough week, but a long few years for our rights in this country, in this state, with this governor, and it’s — we need to flip it around, because queer people need protection,” said Samantha Perez, who lives in Ballston. “Trans people need protection. Trans kids need protection. And it’s not gonna happen with who’s in Richmond right now, and we just need to get it turned around.”
“The whole neighborhood’s here. All our friends are here,” said Annie Styles of Pentagon City. “It means the world to me to take care of each other. That’s what a good community does. That’s not what we’ve had with the Republicans here or across the nation for a really long time. It’s time to show that care. It’s time to make sure that good people are in a position to do good things.”
District of Columbia
Activists protest outside Hungarian Embassy in DC
Budapest Pride scheduled to take place Saturday, despite ban
More than two dozen activists gathered in front of the Hungarian Embassy in D.C. on Friday to protest the country’s ban on Budapest Pride and other LGBTQ-specific events.
Amnesty International USA Executive Director Paul O’Brien read a letter that Dávid Vig, executive director of Amnesty International Hungary, wrote.
“For 30 years Budapest Pride has been a celebration of hope, courage, and love,” said Vig in the letter that O’Brien read. “Each march through the streets of Budapest has been a powerful testament to the resilience of those who dare to demand equality, but a new law threatens to erase Pride and silence everyone who demands equal rights for LGBTI people.”
“The Hungarian government’s relentless campaign against LGBTI rights represents a worrying trend that can spread normalizing division and hatred,” added Vig. “Thank you for standing with us when we refuse to be intimidated.”
Council for Global Equality Chair Mark Bromley and two of his colleagues — Stephen Leonelli and Keifer Buckingham — also spoke. Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell and Chloe Schwenke, a political appointee in the Obama-Biden administration who worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Planned Parenthood staffers are among those who attended the protest.
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
Hungarian lawmakers in March passed a bill that bans Pride events and allow authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those who participate in them. MPs in April amended the Hungarian constitution to ban public LGBTQ events.
Budapest Pride is scheduled to take place on Saturday, despite the ban. Hundreds of European lawmakers are expected to participate.
“Sending strength to the patriotic Hungarians marching tomorrow to advance human dignity and fundamental rights in a country they love,” said David Pressman, the gay former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, on Friday on social media.
Sending strength to the patriotic Hungarians marching tomorrow to advance human dignity and fundamental rights in a country they love. Szabadság és szerelem. My past remarks on Budapest Pride: https://t.co/y1QhA9QouA
— David Pressman (@AmbPressman) June 27, 2025
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