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Capital Stonewall Democrats endorses Va. candidates

McAuliffe, Roem among endorsees

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State Rep. Danica Roem was among those who won the endorsement of Capital Stonewall Democrats on Tuesday. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

D.C.’s Capital Stonewall Democrats on Monday night voted to endorse what it says was the first round of endorsement of LGBTQ supportive candidates running for public office in Virginia in an effort to help retain the state’s current LGBTQ supportive General Assembly and governor’s office.

Among the six endorsees made by the LGBTQ group, which used to be called the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, were gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, lieutenant governor candidate Hala Ayala, and attorney general candidate Mark Herring.

As part of a motion approved by unanimous voice vote, the Capital Stonewall Democrats also endorsed the re-election bid of House of Delegates member Danica Roem, who made history in 2017 when she became the first transgender person in the U.S. to win election and be seated in a state legislature. Roem holds the House of Delegates seat in the state’s 13th House district located in the Manassas area.

The others endorsed by the LGBTQ group include Joshua Cole, anĀ LGBTQ ally who is running for re-election to his House of Delegates seat in the 28th District; longtime LGBTQ ally Jennifer Kitchen, who’s running for a House of Delegates seat in District 25; and incumbent delegate and LGBTQ ally Wendy Gooditteis, who’s running for re-election in District 66.

Capital Stonewall Democrats President Jatarious Frazier said the group will soon make another round of endorsements of Virginia candidates, including other gay and lesbian incumbents in the House of Delegates. He said that among the criteria the group uses in choosing candidates in Virginia and other states to endorse is their support for D.C. statehood.

ā€œWe want to make sure we have a presence in Virginia because we know that our closest allies for statehood are there in Virginia,ā€ Frazier told the Blade. ā€œAnd it’s really great that we do have a significant number of LGBTQ plus candidates that are also champions for statehood that are running that we will endorse in the upcoming election.ā€

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Maryland

A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center

Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump

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Tavish Forsyth, a queer artist and educator, posted a nude video on YouTube in protest of the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center earlier this year. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.

So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.

ā€œF—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,ā€ a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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District of Columbia

Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw

School teacher, D.C. resident praised for ā€˜warmth, humor, kindness’

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Patrick Shaw (Photo via GoFundMe)

Co-workers and friends will hold a celebration of life for highly acclaimed schoolteacher and D.C. resident Patrick Shaw beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 25 at The Little Gay Pub 1100 P St., N.W.

Little Gay Pub co-owner and Shaw’s friend, Dusty Martinez, said Shaw passed away unexpectedly on April 19 from a heart related ailment at the age of 60.

ā€œPatrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,ā€ Martinez said. ā€œHe was a truly special soul – funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.ā€

In an Instagram posting, Shaw’s colleagues said Shaw was a second-grade special education teacher at the J.F. Cook campus of D.C.’s Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School.

ā€œPatrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,ā€ his colleagues said in their posting. ā€œHis daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.ā€

The posted message adds, ā€œPatrick was more than a teacher; he was a light in our school, inspiring us all to show up with heart, humor, and kindness every day. His spirit will be deeply missed.ā€

The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon. 

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District of Columbia

D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case

Victim threatened with assault, called ā€˜faggot’ as he left Capitals game

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D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera.

D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera after he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs and threatened to assault a man at 6th and H Streets, N.W. on March 20 at about 9:54 p.m.

A police report says the victim told police the incident took place shortly after he exited the nearby Capital One Arena where he had attended a Washington Capitals hockey game.

The police report says the incident began when the victim saw the suspect yell a racist slur at a person behind the victim and started to berate a valet operator.

ā€œSuspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a ā€˜faggot’ among other homophobic slurs,ā€ the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and ā€œsnatchingā€ the phone from the victim’s hand.

ā€œSuspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,ā€ the report continues. ā€œSuspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed ā€˜if you keep recording, I’m going to kick your ass.ā€™ā€ The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.

It lists the incident as a ā€œThreats To Do Bodily Harmā€ offense that is a suspected hate crime.

ā€œAnyone who can identify this suspect or has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099, or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411,ā€ according to a separate police statement released April 23.

The statement says police currently offer an award of up to $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.

D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the case has been under investigation since the incident occurred on March 20. He said the video image of the suspect, most likely obtained from a security camera from a nearby business, was released to the public as soon as it was obtained and processed through the investigation.

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