Local
Same-sex marriage supporters rally in Freedom Plaza
D.C. gathering among 150 that took place across the country
![Freedom Plaza, marriage equality, gay marriage, same-sex marriage, Supreme Court, gay news, Washington Blade, Vince Gray](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2013/06/Vince_Gray_thumb_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
More than 200 same-sex marriage supporters gathered at Freedom Plaza in downtown D.C. on Wednesday to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act and Californiaās Proposition 8.
āDOMA and Prop 8 are dead in the U.S. of A,ā D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said during a rally the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club hosted. āThe deep injustices that they perpetrated on loving, committed couples and their families have gone and gone for good.ā
The D.C. rally was one of nearly 150 events that took place across the country in celebration of the landmark Supreme Court rulings.
Edith Windsor, who challenged DOMA after she paid $363,000 in federal estate taxes upon the 2009 death of her partner of more than 40 years, Thea Spyer, whom she married in Canada in 2007, spoke at a rally outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City. Same-sex marriage advocates also celebrated the decisions in Boston; Seattle; San Francisco; Chicago; Miami Beach, Fla.; West Hollywood, Calif., and other cities.
Washington National Cathedral in Northwest D.C. hosted a prayer service for LGBT families.
āWe are ringing our bells at the cathedral to celebrate the extension of federal marriage equality to all the same-sex couples modeling Godās love in lifelong covenants,ā Washington National Cathedral Dean Gary Hall said in a statement after the justices announced their rulings on DOMA and Prop 8. āOur prayers for committed happiness are with them and with all couples who will be joined in matrimony in the years to come, whether at Washington National Cathedral or elsewhere.ā
Back at Freedom Plaza, an emotional National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said the rulings go far beyond same-sex couples and their families.
āIt was a victory for the United States of America,ā she said.
āToday millions of people who have been in the shadows have gotten the rights and recognition and respect that we should have had years and years and centuries and centuries ago,ā American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten added.
D.C. Councilwoman Anita Bonds (D-At-Large) described the decisions to the Washington Blade as āwonderful.ā
Christopher Schaffer, vice chair of LGBT Democrats of Virginia, agreed.
āThe rulings today on DOMA and Prop 8 are a major step forward for equality in the United States,ā he said. āDOMA has been nothing more than the federal government condoning discrimination against LGBT people. And it is our hope that wiping discriminatory laws from our books will set an example for all to follow.ā
Even though same-sex marriage supporters celebrated the Supreme Court rulings, they acknowledged many LGBT Americans still lack even the most basic of legal protections in the states in which they live.
Schaffer said gay and lesbian Virginiansā relationships āwill continue to be relegated to second class statusā in the commonwealth because of the stateās constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Carey reiterated her support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act; while she, Weingarten and National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling blasted the Supreme Courtās decision on Tuesday that struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
āWe do not have equality until every single person in these blessed United States has full equality,ā Marty Rouse, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, said.
Ikeita Cantu of McLean, Va., who married Carmen GuzmƔn in Canada in 2009, echoed this message.
āToday is about equality for all people and so as a woman, as a person of color, as an LGBT American, weāre used to freedom being a very long struggle in this country,ā Cantu told the Blade at the end of the rally. āToday is not just about LGBT Americans; itās about all Americans and we all became that much freer today.ā
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
Baltimore
Despite record crowds, Baltimore Prideās LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball
People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/Screenshot-2024-06-29-at-18.01.33.png)
BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This yearās Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people ā record attendance that far exceeded initial projections of 100,000.
But some see room for improvement and want organizers to address safety issues and make changes so the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ population is better run.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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