Local
Will casino push impact Md. marriage referendum?
Polls suggest gaming will have little impact, but others say it’s a ‘crap shoot’
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2012/04/Martin_OMalley_thumb_c_Washington_Blade_by_Pete_Exis.jpg)
As Maryland lawmakers prepare to debate the proposed expansion of gambling in the state, same-sex marriage supporters are divided over whether the issue will influence the outcome of the November referendum.
Josh Levin, campaign director of Marylanders for Marriage Equality, pointed to a Maryland pollster who said in an undated memo that a referendum, no matter āhow controversial,ā would not āby itself drive up turnout among āreluctantā voters in a presidential year.ā The memo specifically notes that 2,631,434 Marylanders voted in the 2008 presidential election, compared to only 2,525,424 who cast votes in the gaming referendum that allowed five casinos with slot machines and table games on video screens to open in the state. (Voters approved Question 2 by a 58.6 to 41.4 percent margin.)
The Washington Post last month noted that a second poll of 700 Maryland voters that the Mellman Group conducted on behalf of MGM Resorts International between June 28 and July 7 found 63 percent of gambling proponents support same-sex marriage. The survey found that only 34 percent of those who oppose gaming are against nuptials for gays and lesbians. MGM is seeking rights to build a proposed National Harbor casino.
āBoth issues are going to motivate voters to get out on both of the issues,ā said Levin, referring to the Mellman Group survey. He spoke to the Blade hours after Gov. Martin OāMalley, who signed the same-sex marriage law in March, announced a special legislative session to decide the fate of the proposed National Harbor casino in Prince George’s County that will start on Aug. 9. āWhere we have the momentum, we donāt see it affecting turnout in ways that will be harmful to us.ā
Neither OāMalleyās office nor the Maryland Family Alliance, the group that backs the November same-sex marriage referendum, returned the Bladeās requests for comment.
Some LGBT advocates fear that the group of existing Maryland casino operators will target conservative blacks and white evangelicals who traditionally oppose gambling ā and same-sex marriage ā in a well-funded campaign against the proposed National Harbor complex. A separate referendum on the Maryland Dream Act that would extend tuition to undocumented immigrants further complicates the electoral landscape.
āItās a tricky question because gambling and marriage have never been on the ballot together in Maryland,ā said Jeff Krehely, vice president of LGBT programs at the Center for American Progress. āKnowing there could be a morality argument against gambling, I feel like having any kind of gambling effort on the ballot is going to increase those with a more conservative perspective on the world to come out to the ballot referendum.ā
A Gonzalez Research and Marketing poll in January found the economy, Ā jobs, education and taxes ā and not same-sex marriage ā were the top issues among Maryland voters. Less than one percent of respondents identified nuptials for gays and lesbians as their biggest concern.
Only 19 percent of those who took part in the annual Conservative Political Action Committee straw poll in D.C. in February described ātraditional valuesā as their top issue going into this yearās election cycle. Only 1 percent of those who voted in the 2011 CPAC straw poll cited stopping same-sex marriage as their primary concern.
In spite of these numbers, some Maryland LGBT activists are not ready to discount the impact a gambling referendum could have on efforts to defend the stateās same-sex marriage law.
āAt this point itās a crap shoot,ā the Rev. Meredith Moise, co-chair of Baltimore Black Pride, told the Blade. āI do know some of the pastors are organizing against the gambling pieces for good reason ā focus on gaming is taking away from a lot of important issues and just the money drain it will bring to the community is unfathomable. Anytime you have something that can motivate and organize anti-gay constituencies could spell trouble for us.ā
Moise noted that churches that both support and oppose nuptials for same-sex couples have joined anti-gaming efforts. She stressed that she feels these congregations āhave agreed to disagree about gay marriage for the sake of their coalitions.ā
Moise added that activists have found that those whom she described as allies and potential allies remain unaware of the November referendum.
āWe are still educating people and having conversations about marriage equality,ā she said. āLGBT folks and community activists are having conversations about marriage equality. What we are hearing and experiencing is that people know the bill passed but don’t know that it will be on the ballot in November.ā
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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