District of Columbia
Bowser: ‘I’m not in the closet’
Mayor asked about sexual orientation at shelter ribbon cutting
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Thursday denied she is in the closet after someone who identified themselves as an activist asked her if she is a lesbian.
“Well, I’m not in the closet,” said Bowser in response to the question.
Ahmar Mustikhan, who describes himself on his Twitter account as the “first openly gay man on earth from Balochistan,” a province in Pakistan that borders Iran and Afghanistan with a pro-independence movement, asked Bowser the question during a ribbon cutting ceremony of the city’s first shelter for homeless LGBTQ adults.
“Mayor, I’m extremely grateful to you for the all the works that you have done so far for the LGBTQ community, including this shelter here,” asked Mustikhan. “Mayor, I’m a little concerned because there is this word that you are lesbian and you are in this closet. Why is this the case?”
A video that WAMU reporter Ally Schweitzer posted on Twitter shows people who attended the event laughed after Bowser responded to the question.
A Progress Pride flag was attached to the podium from which Bowser spoke.
Today @MayorBowser was asked at a press conference to address a rumor that sheās a closeted lesbian. After appearing speechless for a moment, she said, āWell, Iām not in the closet.ā pic.twitter.com/Ejo4bpt5dZ
ā Ally Schweitzer WAMU 88.5 (@allyschweitzer) July 15, 2022
Bowser’s brother, Marvin Bowser, is openly gay, but the mayor herself has never publicly said whether she is a lesbian, despite persistent rumors.
āiām very proud to be a straight ally of the LGBTQ community,ā Muriel Bowser told NBC Washington on Friday.
District of Columbia
Fire by arson forced temporary shutdown of Glorious Health Club
Spa and art gallery catering to gay
men expects to reopen in August
In a little noticed development, D.C.ās Glorious Health Club, which bills itself as a spa, art gallery, and community center catering to gay men, was forced to close on May 19 after one or more unidentified suspects ignited a fire inside the club that D.C. fire department officials have ruled an act of arson.
Robert Siegel, the clubās owner, told the Washington Blade that he and investigators with the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department believe one or more yet unidentified suspects broke into the kitchen of the former warehouse building where the club is located at 2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E.
According to Siegel, investigators with the fire departmentās arson squad believe a flammable liquid was used to start the fire in the kitchen and in two other locations within the building.
āThree separate fires were started,ā Siegel said. āThey started one on a staircase and one on the upstairs storage area,ā he said in addition to the one in the kitchen. He said about 40 patrons were in the club at the time the fire started, and all were able to leave without injury.
Siegel said the fire caused $500,000 worth of damage to his building, with some of the damage caused ā understandably he said ā by fire fighters who had to rip open doors and break through the roof to gain access to the flames that engulfed parts of the interior of the building. He said he arranged for repair work to begin after the fire was extinguished.
āI expect weāll be reopening in about a month from now,ā he said. āAnd weāll be a bigger and better place.ā
Fortunately, Siegel said, most of the artwork and art exhibits located in the club were not damaged.
āIt was basically the kitchen, patio, and the roof,ā he said, adding that much of the solar panels he had on the roof were destroyed by the fire or by firefighters seeking to gain access to the building.
āAnd the fire was so hot it did structural damage to the roof,ā he said. āIt actually melted steel. Weāre talking about 50-foot steel beams that have to be replaced,ā he told the Blade. āThatās $100,000 right there.āĀ
Vito Maggiolo, a spokesperson for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, said the fire was āruled incendiary/arsonā and isĀ āunder active investigation.āĀ
It could not immediately be determined if one or more people responsible for the fire targeted the Glorious Health Club because itās a gay community establishment.
District of Columbia
D.C. events to commemorate International Transgender Day of Visibility
Monica Beverly-Hillz to attend Blossom Gala at Hook Hall
Trans USA National Pageantry and the National Center for Transgender Equality will hold a series of events in D.C. on Sunday in commemoration of the International Transgender Day of Visibility.
The TRANSform the Vote rally will take place on the National Mall.
Organized by the Queer Equity Institute and NCTE, the event aims to celebrate trans liberation, combat violence and promote civic engagement. Elected officials, activists and artists are expected to participate.
Queer Equity Institute Executive Director Leigh Finke and NCTE Executive Director Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen discussed the rally and how it will empower the trans community and promote advocacy.
āFrom restricting access to medically necessary healthcare to denying trans students the opportunity to participate in sports, we have seen nationwide efforts to exclude trans people from society,ā said Heng-Lehtinen. āTRANSform the Vote presents a historical moment for us to empower our community ā casting our votes and participating in democracy is just one of many ways our community can advocate for the issues that matter to us.ā
Finke, Minnesotaās first openly trans lawmaker who wrote the stateās groundbreaking trans refuge bill, echoed Heng-Lehtinen.
“Over the past few years, weāve watched again and again as ‘jokes’ became hate speech, hate speech became bills, bills became laws; and all the jokes, hate speech and laws created an environment where transgender people are assaulted, beaten and murdered,” said Finke. “Some of the most important tools we have to fight back against these attacks is to change the culture through voting, running for office and creating art and music that shift society. This rally is meant to highlight and encourage folks to use those tools in their communities.”
Confirmed speakers and participants aside from Finke and Heng-Lehtinen include:
- Minnesota state Rep. Alicia āLiishā Kozlowski, who is one of the countryās foremost activists for Indigenous trans and two-spirit people.
- Minneapolis City Council President Andrea Jenkins.
- Angelica Ross, a Buddhist artist and human rights activist.
- Visual artist Cassils
The first annual Blossom Gala will take place at Hook Hall (3400 Georgia Ave., N.W.) and will feature keynote speakers, a Q&A panel discussion featuring national leaders in the trans rights movement and drag performances. Cherry Bomb, which will cap off the event, is an all-trans drag showcase.
Mr. Trans USA 2020 Eddie Broadway; Miss Trans USA 2020 Bianca Nicole and Candi Stratton, a world-renowned Cher illusionist, are among those who are expected to perform. Other participants will include Miss Trans USA 2023 Anya Marino, Mr. Trans USA 2023 Trey C. Michaels and NCTE National Organizer Sybastian Smith.
Monica Beverly-Hillz from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” will also participate.
District of Columbia
Judy and Dennis Shepard discuss Nex Benedict, anti-LGBTQ laws at DC event
Nonbinary Okla. high school student died last month after fight
Judy and Dennis Shepard on Thursday reflected on Nex Benedict’s death and the proliferation of anti-LGBTQ laws across the country during a discussion the Raben Group hosted at their D.C. office.
The discussion, which MSNBC host Jonathan Capehart moderated, took place less than a month after Benedict died.
Benedict, who was nonbinary, passed away on Feb. 8 after students at their high school in Owasso, Okla., assaulted them in a bathroom.
Vice President Kamala Harris, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt are among those who have publicly responded to Benedict’s death, which took place after they endured months of bullying. More than 300 advocacy groups have demanded Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters’ removal and called for a federal investigation into the Oklahoma Department of Education’s “actions and policies” that have facilitated a āculture where rampant harassment of 2SLGBTQI+ students has been allowed to go unchecked.ā
“Parents are doing whatever they can to protect and encourage and support kids, and you have these what I call evil, evil people around the country pushing these laws,” said Dennis Shepard.
He noted lawmakers around the country are pushing anti-LGBTQ laws and other efforts that include the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Dennis Shepard also highlighted an effort to defund gender studies programs at the University of Wyoming.
“[It is] the old white male, Christian geezers who want to go back to the days of the 50s when they had that superior arrogant attitude,” he said. “They’re losing it and they don’t want to, so they’re passing everything they can.”
“What happened to Nex is a result of that,” added Dennis Shepard. “They feel like Henderson and McKinney felt when they took Matt out on the prairie.”
Matthew Shepard died on Oct. 12, 1998, after Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney brutally beat him and left him tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyo. Then-President Barack Obama in 2009 signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which added sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes law.
“If you’re considered different, you’re in fear of your life right now because you don’t fit in and it’s got to stop,” said Dennis Shepard.
Judy Shepard echoed her husband, noting this moment is “the last gasp of the fight against the community.”
“In my heart, I know this is a moment in time, and it’s going to pass. But also in that time, all these young people, everyone in the community is afraid, but young people are being terrorized,” she said. “It just shouldn’t be happening.”
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