Local
Md. trans bill clears crucial committee vote
Final debate, vote in Senate expected Monday

ANNAPOLIS, Md. ā The Judicial Proceedings Committee of the Maryland State Senate voted 7-4 on Saturday to approve legislation that would ban discrimination against transgender Marylanders in the area of employment, housing and credit.
The vote to approve the bill and send it to the Senate floor came afterĀ 90 minutes of debate and after the panel defeatedĀ three hostile amendments that supporters said would have killed the bill had they passed.
One called for removing from the bill the provision banning job discrimination against transgender people and another would have removed the bill’s lanaguage protecting transgender Marylanders from housing discrimination.
Another would have stricken a provision allowing people seeking redress under the law to take private legal action against against an employer, landlord and other parties accused of engaging in discriminatory practices prohibited under the law.
The committee voted unanimously to approve what supporters called a friendly, nonsubstantive amendment that modifies the bill’s definition of gender identity.
Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County), the lead supporter of the bill in the Senate, agreed to the amendment, saying it would enable some questioning senators to back the bill.
With lawmakers frantically trying to complete work on dozens of bills before the legislature adjourns for the year Monday night, supporters of the Gender Identity Non-Discrimination Act said the adoption of the amendment adds yet another step in the process of passing the bill. The House of Delegates, which has already passed the bill, must now vote to approve the wording change from the amendment.
Morgan Meneses-Sheets, executive director of Equality Maryland, the statewide LGBT group leading efforts to pass the trans bill, said House leaders would expedite a vote to accept the amendment. She said the biggest hurdle left for the bill is its debate and vote on the Senate floor, expected to begin Monday on the final day ofĀ the legislature’s 2011 session.
Opponents were expected to offer amedments along the lines of those defeated by the committee, she said,Ā and any substantive amendment approved by the Senate would result in the death of the bill. There wouldĀ be no time left for the House to go back and vote on such an amendment, Meneses-Sheets and others familiar with the legislature said.
The bill could come up before the Senate as early as Monday morning but might be brought up as late as Monday night. There’s a remote but unlikely chance that the Senate could take up the bill late Saturday night, according to one source familiar with the legislature who spoke on condition of not being identified.
Virginia
Youngkin calls on gay Va. GOP LG candidate to exit race over alleged ‘porn’ scandal
John Reid denounces ‘fabricated internet lie’ as anti-gay smear campaign

Less than a week after John Reid, the conservative gay radio talk show host from Richmond secured the Republican nomination for the office of lieutenant governor in Virginia, sensational allegations have surfaced, which he strongly denies, that he allegedly posted pornographic photos on social media.
According to the Virginia Mercury newspaper, the allegations surfaced when Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkinās office released a statement saying Youngkin contacted Reid on Friday, April 25, and asked him to withdraw his candidacy over reports that a social media account with Reidās username included āpornographic contentā that was āsharedā with others.
āThe governor was made aware late Thursday of the disturbing online content,ā the Virginia Mercury quotes a Youngkin spokesperson as saying. āFriday morning, in a call with Mr. Reid, the governor asked him to step down as the lt. governor nominee,ā the spokesperson is quoted as saying.
Reid responded to the allegations in an early Friday evening video he posted on his campaignās Facebook page, calling the allegations āa totally fabricated internet lieā motivated by anti-gay bias.
āI can tell you thatās not my account and anyone on the internet can open accounts with the same or similar names as other people,ā he stated in his video. āItās predictable,ā he added.
āBut what I didnāt expect was the governor I have always supported to call and demand my resignation without even showing me the supposed evidence or offering me a chance to respond,ā Reid states in his video.
He said he will not drop out of the lieutenant governorās race and called the allegations against him just the latest in what he said was an ongoing effort by some in the Republican Party, especially conservative Christians, to force him out of politics.
āLetās be honest,ā he said. āitās because Iām openly gay. And I have never backed down to the establishment, and will not,ā he continued in his video message. āWhat happened today is another coordinated assassination attempt against me to force the first openly gay candidate off of a Virginia statewide ticket.ā
Reid added, āItās shameful, and I wonāt back down, even though I know the plan is for the attacks to continue in this overt effort to make me toxic.ā
Reid secured the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor last week after his only rival in the Republican primary, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race for health reasons.
By securing the nomination Reid became the first known openly gay candidate, Republican or Democrat, to be nominated for a statewide office in Virginia.
In an interview with the Washington Blade earlier this week Reid pointed out that he came out as gay in 1996 or 1997 on National Coming Out Day in his role as TV news anchor in Richmond, where he worked for 10 years.
Following that, Reid worked as a radio talk show host for the next eight years, promoting his ideas as a gay conservative Republican, up until shortly before he announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor, he told the Blade.
Reidās video responding to the accusations against him can be accessed here.
Reidās campaign website and statements he has released to the media acknowledge his status as a gay candidate but point out he has a long record of support for conservative Republican positions on a wide range of issues that are against the positions of most mainline LGBTQ rights organizations.
āIām not a diversity hire,ā he stated in a press release issued at the time he announced his candidacy in January. āIām the most conservative and proven candidate running, and Iāve boldly stood up for our beliefs in a way that should make my personal life a total nonissue,ā he stated.
A statement on his campaign website states āJohn is uniquely positioned to take the fight to the radical progressives head on as he continues his fight against boys in girlsā sports and the extreme trans agenda being forced upon our children.ā
His campaign website statement on transgender issues concludes by saying, āAnd we must be blatant in saying that it is factually impossible for biological men or women to personally decide to change their gender. John believes in the right for grown adults to live their lives as they see fit, but not if they impose restrictions and obligations on others and not if any of their behavior sexualizes or grooms children.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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.
āFāā Donald Trump and fāā the Kennedy Center,ā a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Operaās Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nationās 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.
District of Columbia
Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw
School teacher, D.C. resident praised for āwarmth, humor, kindnessā

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 Shawās friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.
āPatrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,ā Martinez said. āHe was a truly special soul ā funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.ā
In an Instagram posting, Shawās colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.ās Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.
āPatrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,ā his colleagues said in their posting. āHis daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.ā
The posted message adds, āPatrick 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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