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Queery: David Chalfant

The Whitman-Walker staffer answers 20 gay questions

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David Chalfant (Blade photo by Michael Key)

David Chalfant and his partner, Brian Hegedus, live in D.C. but sometimes feel they’re in a remote area — near the Fort Totten Metro station, they’re isolated enough that no Washington take-out spots will deliver to them and those in Takoma Park, Md., won’t cross the line.

“We’re kind of way out there,” he says.

It’s still close enough, though, that he can bike to work at Whitman-Walker Health where he’s director of development. Though relatively new in the position — he’s been there a year and a half — he believes fully in its mission.

“I heard a couple the other day say they come here not only to be healthy but to be whole,” he says. “There’s a great sense of pride that comes in helping make people’s lives better.”

There are a few tickets remaining for “Be the Care!,” the organization’s annual spring gala slated for Thursday at the Carnegie Institution for Science where the Partner for Life award will be given to U.S. Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $150. Visit Whitman-walker.org for details.

Chalfant, a 47-year-old Suffern, N.Y., native, has spent most of his life in or near Washington with long stints in Arizona (1984-1991) and Los Angeles (1996-2004) and even a couple years in Shanghai. He’s worked in fundraising for several organizations and also worked in landscape architecture.

He and Hegedus have been together about two years. He enjoys restoring vintage cars and sharing dinners with his family in his free time.

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?

Over 20 years. My ex fiancé because I didn’t want her to think my love for her was not true.

Who’s your LGBT hero?

Elizabeth Birch

What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present? 

The Kennedy Center

Describe your dream wedding.

Just the two of you, with an officiate and family on the beach in Oregon with no one else around for miles.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about?

Conservation of our oceans

What historical outcome would you change?

Gore v Bush

What has been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime?

When texting replaced a friendly voice on the phone.

On what do you insist?

That people in my life bring their A game and understand that it doesn’t cost anything extra to be kind.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet?

My brother Mark and sister Julie are the finest people I know!

If your life were a book, what would the title be?

What’s Next?

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do?

Ask them to keep it to themselves.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world? 

That we were all put here for a reason and that since there is no absolute proof of what is beyond the physical world — we better do our best job while we are here.

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders?

That LGBT issues are basic human rights issues and when we let opponents divide us with hate, everyone loses.

What would you walk across hot coals for?

A person in need.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most?

The very fact that LGBT stereotypes exist.

What’s your favorite LGBT movie?

“Big Eden”

What’s the most overrated social custom?

“Let’s do lunch” — nobody ever means it.

What trophy or prize do you most covet?

A happy life.

What do you wish you’d known at 18?

That people are irreplaceable and that there is nothing two smart people can’t figure out together.

Why Washington?

Smart is sexy.

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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride March and Festival

LGBTQ celebration held in historic Virginia town

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A scene from the 2026 Fredericksburg Pride March. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The sixth annual Fredericksburg Pride March was held in downtown Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 27. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Deuntay Diggs led the march alongside Fredericksburg City Council Member Jannan W. Holmes. The Fredericksburg Pride Festival took place at Riverfront Park after the march. Bree Fram was the featured speaker.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Iran, Egypt play in World Cup ‘Pride Match’

FIFA allowed Pride flags inside Seattle stadium

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(Screen capture via KOMO News/YouTube)

Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.

Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.

Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”

Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.

FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.

“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”

Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.

“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”

“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”

Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.

“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.

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PHOTOS: Frederick Pride Parade

Second annual LGBTQ march held in Maryland city

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A scene from the 2026 Frederick Pride Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The second annual Frederick Pride Parade was held in the streets of downtown Frederick, Md. on Friday, June 26.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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