Local

Mormons working to overturn Md. marriage law

Church denies direct role, but leaked email details efforts

Published

13 years ago

April 6, 2012

LDS Temple (photo from wikimedia by Joe Ravi)

Members of the Mormon Church in Maryland are working to overturn the state’s recently passed marriage equality law, according to an email obtained by the Washington Blade.

In the message dated March 29 sent to D.C. and Southern Maryland-area church members, the writer states that a coalition of inter-denominational Maryland churches has joined to place a referendum before voters in November on the marriage law before it goes into effect.

“We need to collect approximately 200,000 signatures by the end of May,” the email states. “We are looking for people to gather signatures within the LDS community.”

LDS refers to the church’s formal name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those involved with the effort have told the Blade the message isn’t an official message from church leadership either at the local level or from its headquarters in Salt Lake City, but is rather part of a local ad hoc effort to challenge Maryland’s marriage law.

The email says the “important effort” is being led by Martha Schaerr, an LDS member who’s organizing signature collection within Montgomery County and within the church. Another named organizer in the email is Teressa Wallace.

An informed source said the email was sent to the entire congregation in D.C. and Southern Maryland, which consists of between 500 and 1,500 church members and former members. According to the source, the author is Wallace, one of the named organizers in the email and wife of one of the junior pastors of the congregation.

Only 55,736 valid signatures are needed to force a ballot measure in Maryland. The stated goal of obtaining 200,000 signatures is likely an attempt to over deliver in case the validity of some signatures is challenged.

According to the email, church members interested in organizing training sessions are required to attend a 30-minute training session, “due to the stringent Maryland laws concerning referendums.”

“There will be several training sessions offered, but if transportation to them is a problem for you, a trainer would be happy to meet with you at a more convenient time and location,” the email states.

The email says the Mormon Church is “neutral on matters of party politics,” but asks that members take an active role in civic duties.

“The Church does encourage its members to play a role as responsible citizens, including becoming informed about issues and voting in elections, and becoming engaged in the political process in an informed and civil manner,” the email states. “Please consider helping with this very important effort. Every signature is important and every little bit helps!”

In an email to the Blade, Schaerr said she’s organizing against the Maryland marriage law not out of any guidance or pressure from the church, but on her own accord.

“My understanding of the religious principles taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in ‘The Proclamation on the Family,’ the scriptures and numerous statements by church leaders has informed my conscience, and I am seeking to follow my conscience,” the email states.

Schaerr also expressed concern that the same-sex marriage law in Maryland would stifle those who want to speak out against homosexuality.

“I believe the Maryland law extends beyond providing rights to gay couples and actually seeks to silence religious objections to same sex relationships by changing the definition of marriage,” she said.

A history of anti-gay politics

The LDS member named in the email as leading the effort, Schaerr, who failed in her bid to win a seat in 2010 on the Montgomery County School Board, isn’t a stranger to anti-gay activism.

In 2007, Schaerr was reportedly a board member of the Fairfax, Va.-based Family Leader Network, an organization that — along with Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and Parents & Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays — led the effort against a Montgomery County law instituting lessons for 8th through 10th grade students on safe-sex practices that included gays.

According to the Gazette, Schaerr downplayed her involvement in the lawsuit against the curriculum while pursuing a seat on the school board two years ago, reportedly saying other board members wouldn’t support efforts to change the curriculum.

In an op-ed submitted to the Washington Post at the time she was running for the seat, Schaerr disputed the notion she’s anti-gay. However, she said she disagreed that schools should teach homosexuality is “inevitably innate” because she said there are other views to the contrary — even though those views are disputed by major medical and psychiatric professional associations.

“If we’re going to talk about anal sex in a health class or a condom video, it’s irresponsible not to warn students — especially gay students — about the medical evidence showing the heightened health risks of anal sex compared with vaginal sex, even with a condom,” Schaerr said.

Wallace, the other named person in the email, was also involved in the fight against the curriculum. According to an LDS publication called Meridian Magazine, Wallace objected to the gay-inclusive Montgomery County sex ed curriculum, and attended a school board meeting while holding a sign expressing her opinion. The article is no longer on the magazine’s website, but has been reposted on a Mormon online forum.

Carrie Evans, executive director of Equality Maryland, said she isn’t surprised that Mormon Church officials are playing a role in the effort to rescind the Maryland marriage law, but doesn’t think the LDS Church is the lead organization in the effort.

“We were not aware of this email, however the Mormon Church has been very vocal in its opposition to marriage equality so it is not surprising,” Evans said. “We have no reason to believe they are taking a lead role in efforts to overturn the Civil Marriage Protection Act in Maryland.”

Church disavows involvement

The Mormon Church is disavowing any involvement in the organizational effort proposed in the email.

Dale Jones, an LDS spokesperson, said the church has no direct involvement in the effort to overturn the marriage law in Maryland.

“While the Church’s position in support of traditional marriage is well established, the effort in Maryland is not being organized through the Church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City,” Jones said. “Members, of course, will make their own decisions regarding their involvement in local issues.”

But the message recalls the Mormon Church’s lead role in passage of Proposition 8 in California in 2008. The First Presidency of the Church, or its governing body, publicly backed the initiative and reportedly encouraged members during church services to take an active role in contributing money and get-out-the-vote efforts to support the ban’s passage.

According to the New York Times, Protect Marriage, the organization responsible for Prop 8, estimates that nearly half of the $40 million in donations to the initiative came from LDS members and made up 80 to 90 percent of the volunteers who walked door-to-door in election precincts.

The Mormon Church has maintained that its direct involvement with the initiative was minimal — its total contributions amounted to nearly $190,000 — and church members were supporting Prop 8 on their own accord.

The Mormon involvement in Prop 8 was largely seen as public relations setback for the church in terms of public perception.

An LGBT rights supporter, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he’s spoken to senior church leaders and was told they want no involvement in future initiatives on marriage.

In January, a statement affirming marriage should remain between one man, one woman was reportedly read to Mormons in Minnesota as the state prepares to vote on a marriage amendment this fall. But according to Affirmation, a gay Mormon group, the statement was also read on an ad hoc basis and not under direction from church leadership.

Moreover, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — a Mormon — looking like he’ll be the GOP presidential nominee, many suspect the church doesn’t want to take an active role in politics to avoid the perception that Mormon officials will tell Romney how to govern if he’s elected.

Randall Thacker, senior vice president for Affirmation, said his group intends to oppose efforts within the church against same-sex marriage — whether they’re part of a church effort or an ad hoc initiative.

“Our main stance is that we’re very, of course, pro-marriage [equality],” Thacker said. “We will take a stand wherever we have to, including even ad hoc groups, but we typically are more focused on directing and confronting the church when it acts officially.”

The email comes just weeks before the Open Stories Foundation conference is set for LGBT Mormons in Washington, D.C., called “Building Bridges of Understanding,” from April 20 to 22. Guest speakers will include Carol Lynn Pearson, an author who writes about gays in the Mormon Church, and Mitch Mayne, a gay Mormon who serves as the executive secretary in his congregation.

The full text of the email message follows:

Attention Registered Voters who are Residents of Maryland:

As you have probably heard, the Maryland legislature passed a same sex marriage bill last February. A coalition of inter-denominational churches throughout Maryland has joined together to try to get a referendum on the November ballot that would allow the residents of Maryland to vote on this bill before it becomes law. Martha Schaerr, who is a member of the LDS Church, is organizing signature collection within Montgomery County and within the LDS Church.

We need to collect approximately 200,000 signatures by the end of May. We are looking for people to gather signatures within the LDS community. If you are willing to help with this important effort please contact Martha Schaerr as soon as possible at [email protected] or Teressa Wallace at [email protected].

If you would like to volunteer, you must attend a 30 minute training session due to the stringent Maryland laws concerning referendums. To register for a session please contact us as soon as possible. There will be several training sessions offered, but if transportation to them is a problem for you, a trainer would be happy to meet with you at a more convenient time and location.

The LDS Church is neutral of matters of party politics. The Church does encourage its members to play a role as responsible citizens, including becoming informed about issues and voting in elections, and becoming engaged in the political process in an informed and civil manner. Please consider helping with this very important effort. Every signature is important and every little bit helps!

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District of Columbia

Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington to celebrate Spring Affair honorees

‘Their work inspires our music and deepens our mission’

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2025

Joe Reberkenny

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington performs 'Passports' at the Lincoln Theatre earlier this year. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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

Published

3 days ago

April 18, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

The reenactment took place Thursday. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

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 60^th 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.”

**Paul Kuntzler** (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

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

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

‘Visitors from around the world come to D.C. to experience our world-class festivals and events,’ said Mayor Muriel Bowser. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

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.”