News
Fund established to help gay speed skater qualify for Olympics
Blake Skjellerup to wear Pride pin in Sochi
Blake Skjellerup (Photo by Joni Anderson)
LGBT advocacy groups have backed a fund designed to help a gay speed skater from New Zealand raise money to help him qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Outsports.com, GLAAD, Athlete Ally and the Federation of Gay Games are among the organizations that support the effort to help Blake Skjellerup raise at least $15,000 he will use to help pay for his and his coaches’ travel expenses to compete in Olympic qualification events in China, South Korea, Italy and Russia in the coming months. The fund has raised $15,810 as of deadline since its launch on Monday.
“So far it’s going really, really well,” Skjellerup, 28, told the Washington Blade during an interview from Calgary, Alberta, on Monday where he continues to train. “I’m just excited and really… humbled and honored to see that so many people are willing to support me.”
FIND MORE OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE SPORTS ISSUE HERE.
Skjellerup, who competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, told the Blade he remains committed to taking part in the Sochi games in spite of mounting outrage over Russia’s LGBT rights record.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in June signed a broadly worded law that bans gay propaganda to minors.
The International Olympic Committee has repeatedly said it has received assurances from the Kremlin the law will not affect gay athletes and others who travel to Sochi, even though Russian officials have said they plan to enforce the statute during the games. Putin last week signed a decree that bans demonstrations and other public gatherings in Sochi between Jan. 7 and March 21.
Skjellerup last month announced he will wear a Pride pin during the games if he qualifies for the Olympics.
“It’s been a positive reaction so far,” he told the Blade. “Everybody is behind the idea and are excited to see that I am proud of who I am and that I’m going to show that in Sochi.”
Skjellerup applauded the way he feels the Canadian Olympic Committee has responded to what he described as the “atrocity that is going on in Russia at the moment” with regards to LGBT rights. He added he is not concerned about any potential repercussions he could face by wearing his Pride pin in Sochi.
“I’m wearing a pin as an Olympian,” Skjellerup told the Blade. “It’s an Olympic pin, so I don’t think there’s any, I guess, legal taking place as I am an Olympian competing in the Olympics.”
Virginia
Black transgender woman murdered in Va.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray killed in Petersburg on March 13
A Black transgender woman was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate she was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray, 42, shot to death inside a home in Petersburg. These initial media reports also misgendered her.
“My heart is shattered and heavy with grief at the news of Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray’s murder — the first trans life stolen from us this year,” said Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs for the National Black Justice Coalition, in a statement.
Kirby York in her statement also criticized the media coverage of Sanchez-McCray’s murder.
“The early reports of Shyyell’s death stripped her of her identity by misgendering her, a deeply damaging and persistent failure by law enforcement and media that haunts these cases again and again,” she said. “Misgendering doesn’t just erase a person’s truth — it can derail justice entirely, or worse, bury a case in silence as investigators chase the wrong identity, the wrong face, the wrong name.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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