Local
Md. trans bill on ‘hold’ in committee
Supporters hopeful Judiciary panel will approve measure Saturday
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A committee of the Maryland State Senate voted 6-5 to place aĀ temporary hold on a transgender non-discrimination bill on Friday,Ā adding yet another roadblock to a measure that survived a proceduralĀ attempt to kill it one week ago.
The Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee approved a request by Sen.Ā Nancy Jacobs (R-Cecil and Harford Counties) to place the hold on theĀ Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act. Jacobs is one of the billāsĀ most outspoken opponents.
Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery County), the committee chair, votedĀ against the hold, but three other committee Democrats joined the threeĀ Republican members of the 11-member committee to vote for the hold.
The action prevented the committee from voting to release the bill toĀ the full Senate, which must pass the legislation before the end of theĀ day on Monday, when the Maryland Legislature adjourns for the year.
Froshās office said Frosh was expected to allow the committee to voteĀ on the bill on Saturday morning. Supporters said they were hopeful theĀ legislation might reach the Senate floor for a debate and vote on theĀ same day, as originally expected.
The Maryland House of Delegates has already passed the bill, and Gov.Ā Martin OāMalley has said he would sign it.
Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County), a member of the JudicialĀ Proceedings Committee and a lead supporter of the bill, told the BladeĀ late Friday that he and others supporting the bill were hopeful thatĀ at least two of the Democrats who voted for the hold would vote forĀ the bill on Saturday morning when the committee was expected to meetĀ between 10 and 11 a.m..
āThe way Iām reading it now is we have five hard votes āyesā and thenĀ there are at least two senators who supported the hold who could stillĀ vote for the bill tomorrow,ā he said. āSo Iām cautiously optimisticĀ that weāll be headed to the floor tomorrow,ā he said.
Others familiar with the committee action identified the two DemocratsĀ who voted for the hold and who could vote for the bill as JamesĀ Brochin and Bobby Zirkin, both Democrats from Baltimore County.
The Judicial Proceedings Committee was originally expected to vote onĀ the measure Friday, one day after it held a two-hour hearing inĀ Annapolis on Thursday in which about 40 witnesses testified for andĀ against the bill.
Among those testifying against it were four transgender activists,Ā including one from New York, who said the bill did not go far enoughĀ because it lacks a provision banning discrimination againstĀ transgender Marylanders in the area of public accommodations.
The billās author and chief sponsor, House of Delegates memberĀ Joseline Pina-Melnyk (D-Prince Georgeās and Anne Arundel Counties),Ā testified that she reluctantly removed the public accommodationsĀ provision from the bill in order to line up enough votes to pass it inĀ a House committee.
Pina-Melnyk has said the bill would have died in committee, as it hasĀ for the past four years, if the public accommodations provisionĀ remained a part of the legislation.
As currently written, the bill would ban discrimination againstĀ transgender people in the area of employment, housing, and credit āĀ including bank loans.
Most transgender activists in Maryland along with the National CenterĀ for Transgender Equality and the transgender rights project of theĀ National Gay & Lesbian Task Force are supporting the bill. They sayĀ they plan to push for the addition of a public accommodationsĀ provision as early as next year.
The bill received a further boost Friday morning from the WashingtonĀ Post, which published an editorial calling on the State Senate toĀ quickly pass the measure as a first step in rectifying longstandingĀ discrimination against transgender people.
āThe legislation is a modest, fair and reasonable step in theĀ direction of equal rights for a minority that continues to sufferĀ widespread bias,ā the Post said.
Among those testifying in favor of the bill on Thursday was attorneyĀ Lisa Mottet, director of the NGLTF transgender rights project.
Longtime transgender rights opponent Ruth Jacobs, head of Citizens forĀ a Responsible Government, emerged as the lead witness against the billĀ on its merits, saying she opposes any form of anti-discriminationĀ protection based on gender identity.
In a development that surprised some attending the hearing, ZirkinĀ criticized Jacobsā organization for unleashing a barrage of computerĀ generated ārobo-callsā to state residents in the late evening hoursĀ over the past few days.
Zirkin — speaking to Jacobs after the hearing recessed — said hisĀ family received one of the calls around 3 a.m. on Thursday, which heĀ said disturbed one of his children, according to people who listenedĀ to his conversation with Jacobs.
Zirkin was one of the committee members said to be undecided onĀ whether to vote for the gender identity bill.
The bill reached the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee a littleĀ more than a week after Senate President Thomas V. Mike MillerĀ (D-Calvert and Prince Georgeās County) diverted it to the Senate RulesĀ Committee, which supporters and opponents viewed as a clear move toĀ kill the bill.
The Rules Committee is widely recognized as a āgraveyardā for billsĀ unpopular with the Senate leadership, especially its president.
But Miller relinquished his āholdā on the bill about a week laterĀ following what observers viewed as an extraordinary lobbying campaignĀ led by the state LGBT group Equality Maryland and many of its LGBT andĀ straight allies.
The campaign generated a barrage of phone calls and e-mails to MillerāsĀ office complaining that his action went against the democraticĀ principles of allowing legislation to be decided by an up or down voteĀ rather than being killed in committee without a vote.
Supporters were hopeful the bill was back on track when the JudicialĀ Proceedings Committee held its hearing on the measure on Thursday andĀ indicated through Frosh that it would vote on the bill on FridayĀ afternoon.
āThis is not good because another day is lost,ā said Dana Beyer, aĀ Maryland transgender activist and former House of Delegates candidateĀ from Montgomery County.
But Morgan Meneses-Sheets, Equality Marylandās executive director,Ā said she was optimistic that the Judicial Proceedings panel wouldĀ approve the bill Saturday morning, placing it back on track for a fullĀ Senate vote over the weekend.
Virginia
Man went on āhomophobic rantā inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/07/Justin_Wayne_Hendricks_mugshot_insert_courtesy_Fairfax_County_Police_Department.jpg)
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a āhomophobic rantā inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
āLast night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,ā the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. āHe then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,ā the posting continues.
āOur manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,ā the message says. āWe want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,ā the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being ādrunk in publicā and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
āOn Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,ā a Vienna police statement says. āUpon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,ā according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldnāt immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/20240629_Shi-Queeta_Lee_at_Arlington_Pride_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
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.
āYou 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,ā Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
āIt was a great year,ā 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.ā
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.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/07/20240629_Iya_Dammons_at_street_naming_ceremony_in_Baltimore_insert_courtesy_Iya_Dammons.jpg)
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 Baltimoreās 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 ānavigating survival modeā living.
āThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā the statement says. āOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottās 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.
āThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. āIya 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,ā it says. āThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā
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