Local
Mayor signs LGBT bills in City Hall ceremony
Trans birth certificate, marriage ‘officiant’ measures won broad support
![Vincent Gray, JaParker Deoni Jones, David Grosso, Ruby Corado, Rick Rosendall, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2013/08/JaParker_Deoni_Jones_Bill_signing_with_Vincent_Gray_thumb_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
![Vincent Gray, JaParker Deoni Jones, David Grosso, Ruby Corado, Rick Rosendall, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2013/08/JaParker_Deoni_Jones_Bill_signing_with_Vincent_Gray_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
Mayor Vincent Gray on Tuesday signed two pro-LGBT bills at City Hall. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
With three members of the City Council and close to two-dozen LGBT advocates standing behind him, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray on Tuesday signed the JaParker Deoni Jones Birth Certificate Equality Amendment Act of 2013 and the Marriage Officiant Amendment Act of 2013.
The birth certificate measure is considered a groundbreaking reform bill aimed at removing obstacles to the process of enabling transgender people to change their birth certificates to reflect their new gender.
āBy signing the birth certificate equality amendment into law, my administration continues to meet the needs of all of our residents so that they may work, live and thrive in safe communities free from stigma and discrimination, which is a goal shared by all of us,ā Gray said before signing the bill.
āWe know that something such as a birth certificate not only validates the gender identity or expression of transgender individuals but it also provides them the opportunity they should have been guaranteed in the first place ā especially around such issues of employment and housing,ā Gray said.
Among other things, the bill repeals a provision in the current law that requires transgender individuals to undergo gender reassignment surgery as a condition for obtaining a new birth certificate, a procedure that trans advocates said was too expensive for many people to afford and medically hazardous to others.
The new bill requires the D.C. Registrar to issue a new birth certificate designating a new gender for āany individual who provides a written request and a signed statement from a licensed healthcare provider that the individual has undergone a gender transition.ā
The Marriage Officiant Amendment Act expands the people authorized to perform a marriage ceremony in the city from the existing law, which limits that task to judges, licensed clergy, and court-appointed officiants. The new law, among other things, would allow the couple getting married ā gay or straight ā to select any adult to perform their marriage on a one-time basis as a ātemporary officiant.ā
The bill would also allow couples to perform their own marriage ceremonyĀ and authorizes the mayor and all members of the City Council to perform marriages.
Like all bills approved by the Council and signed by the mayor, the birth certificate and marriage officiant bills must undergo a congressional review of 30 legislative days under the cityās limited Home Rule Charter before they become law.
D.C. Council member David Catania (I-At-Large), who wrote the birth certificate bill and his Council colleagues named the bill after transgender woman JaParker Deoni Jones, who was murdered at a city bus stop near her Northeast D.C. home in February 2012.
Catania and Gray recognized Jonesā parents, Alvin Bethea and Jaquander Jones, who attended the bill signing, and praised them for their outspoken support for the transgender community since the death of their child.
āDeoni had a family that loved her and tried to understand and did understand,ā Catania said in remarks at the bill signing, which was held outside the mayorās office in the John A. Wilson City Hall Building.
āAnd so this is as much a designation for the Jones family as anything,ā Catania said. āThey had a child taken from them. No parents should ever have to endure that. And that they could take that pain and turn it into such constructive advocacy is really a sign of remarkable people.ā
Joining Catania at the ceremony were Council members Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and David Grosso (I-At-Large). D.C. Congressional Del. Eleanor Homes Norton (D) also attended the event.
Gray and Catania recognized several transgender advocates attending the bill signing who they said played a lead role in lobbying for the birth certificate bill. Among them were Andy Bowen of the D.C. Trans Coalition, Lisa Mottet of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and Ruby Corado of Casa Ruby. Gray recognized Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance President Rick Rosendall and former GLAA President Bob Summersgill as among the lead advocates for the marriage officiant bill.
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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