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Club Q another example of how anti-LGBTQ rhetoric leads to the death of queer, trans folks

The LGBTQ community deserves to feel safe from hate and violence

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It was 7:15 a.m. and I had just landed after traveling across the country from working with my military unit. My phone started ringing. ā€œDid you see it? and ā€œHow are you feeling?ā€ were the messages that started pouring in. Then I saw the news: ā€œColorado Springs LGBTQ+ Club Q Shooting.ā€ I was struck with the same feeling I had seeing the aftermath of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting ā€“ fear and horror.

In 2016, I was still struggling with finding enough self-love to share my sexual identity. I vividly remember watching my parents’ television as the details of the shooting rolled in. I felt like coming out would put me at risk for further hate and unfathomable violence. For those who do not have a strong support system, small online acts of hateful rhetoric can deter someone from their journey to acceptance and happiness. At that moment, I was too young to understand the full extent of these actions but one thing was perfectly clear ā€“ the LGBTQ+ community is hated for simply existing.

Iā€™m a soldier in the U.S. Army. I choose to put on the uniform to help protect the people of our country and at times, the hateful actions committed by fellow Americans has made me feel powerless. The idea of a ā€œwar zoneā€ should only be familiar to soldiers like myself, not children in a school or people looking to have a fun night with their friends at a bar or club.

A few times over the past 24 hours, I found myself pondering the same question: ā€œHow can the sheer existence of queer and trans people be viewed as such a threat to others that they resort to murder?ā€ The simple answer is that our society has allowed for this type of rhetoric to receive attention and sometimes even praise. As a result, five people in Colorado Springs were killed and 25 injured at an LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q. In a heroic attack, two unarmed citizens inside the club stopped the gunman to protect others. These men were not armed with heavy weaponry, but rather a will to live and bravery in their hearts. If these civilians were able to act so quickly here, I wonder why the police had to wait for more than an hour to intervene in Uvalde.

Many Americans are now numb to the news of gun violence. For the past few years, we have watched our lawmakers stand impotently and choose their political party over protecting human beings. Sandy Hook seemed unimaginable and like a bad dream. When we saw that there was little action taken by lawmakers in the wake of six-year-old children being slaughtered in their elementary school classrooms, my heart was shattered. Today, nearly a decade later, there has been little to no movement on legislation to combat horrific gun violence. Instead of Congress taking action, American people have witnessed more than 27 additional mass shootings in schools alone and thousands more injured and/or killed.

From Pulse, to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomasā€™ remarks on Obergefell vs. Hodges, to book bans (including one in my hometown), to the “Donā€™t Say Gay” bill being proposed nationally, I am worried that we are being pushed backwards in time. More than 340 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced this year and there have been more than a dozen attacks on our community. This mass shooting came on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, directly threatening the safety and existence of those who are simply trying to be themselves. In the recent midterm elections, candidates ran on anti-LGBTQ platforms, categorized members of our community as ā€œgroomers,ā€ and directly invalidated our existence. Although they did not pull the trigger, these politicians have ignited bigotry and homophobia to the point where their words are now weaponized.

These survivors are now going to be faced with mental health struggles, likely including post-traumatic stress, which will directly affect their daily lives. Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to work with those struggling from traumatic experiences by using sound bytes to counteract feelings of fear and anxiety. Through my work in this field, I know the mental journey that these Club Q survivors are about to endure. I hope that anyone who is struggling knows that there are resources out there to help.

Today, I use my voice as an activist to work with victims of gun violence and those in the LGBTQ+ community who have been affected by hateful actions to remind people that we are human ā€“ just like them. The families of gun violence deserve better. The LGBTQ+ community deserves to feel safe from hate and violence. Childrenā€™s families deserve better. We as humans deserve better. We want effective policy and change over ā€œthoughts and prayers.ā€ The louder we resist, the weaker hate and fear become.

Brian Femminella is a Gen-Z LGBTQ+ activist and tech entrepreneur. He is an outspoken voice in the queer and trans community, including through his work in the military as an Army Officer.

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History of D.C. Pride: 1995-2007, a time of growth and inclusion

Rainbow History Project plans expansive WorldPride exhibit

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The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington performs at the Lesbian and Gay Freedom Festival on March 18, 1995. (Washington Blade archive photo by Clint Steib)

In conjunction with WorldPride 2025 the Rainbow History Project is creating an exhibit on the evolution of Pride: ā€œPickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington.ā€ In ā€œFreedom on Americaā€™s Main Streets,ā€ we discuss how during the 1990s the LGBTQ communities became more prominent across all areas of American life, the circumstances of moving official Pride activities to Pennsylvania Avenue, and the origin of the name ā€œCapital Pride.ā€

Throughout the 1990s, LGBTQ visibility increased significantly in American society. The LGBTQ community’s presence extended beyond news coverage of AIDS activism, with members participating in various social movements. Gay Black men joined the Million Man March in 1995, carrying banners and signs proclaiming “Black by Birth, Gay by God, Proud by Choice.ā€ Lesbians led abortion-rights rallies, LGBTQ Asians joined Lunar New Year parades, and LGBTQ Latinos marched in Fiesta DC.

Once again, financial difficulties around Pride activities led to the dissolution of the Gay and Lesbian Pride of Washington as an organization and the gay arts and culture non-profit One in Ten took over organizing Pride. One in Tenā€™s mission was not solely Pride planning, but rather year round activities, including an attempt to make an LGBTQ history museum. Due to the explosion of activities, the crowd sizes, and the growing concerns around feelings of exclusion brought on by the neighborhoodā€™s identity as a primarily gay white male space, in 1995, One in Ten moved the Pride parade and festival out of Dupont Circle to Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Although the struggle for bisexual visibility had successfully added the B to the 1993 March on Washington, the push to add Trans and Queer identities to Gay Prideā€™s name was not yet successful; Pride was reborn as The Freedom Festival. Two years later, in 1997, the Whitman-Walker Clinic became not just a sponsor but also a co-organizer to alleviate some of the organizational and financial challenges. It was during this time that the event was officially renamed Capital Pride.

The name change sparked debate within the community. Frank Kameny, who had organized the 1965 pickets, harshly criticized the new name, arguing that it “certainly provides not an inkling of what we really mean: Pride that we are Gay.ā€ He lamented that the name change “represents Gay shame.ā€ However, others celebrated the inclusivity of the new name. L. A. Nash, a self-identified lesbian, wrote, “Gay is goodā€”Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender is far better.ā€ Elke Martin further supported the change, stating, “A name is your identity, it gives you legitimacy and a seat at the table.ā€ Capital Prideā€™s official name was now ā€œCapital Pride Festival: A Celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Community and Friends.ā€

In April 2000, the Millennium March on Washington highlighted divisions within the gay civil rights movement. Unlike previous grassroots marches organized by local activists, this event was orchestrated by national organizations like the Human Rights Campaign. However, its Millennium Pride Festival was by far the largest event with major headliners performing, including Garth Brooks and Pet Shop Boys. Critics argued that these events represented a corporatization of activism that sidelined political demands and local groups struggling for recognition.

In 2001, Capital Pride events were attracting 100,000 attendees. The festival was held on Pennsylvania Avenue with the U.S. Capitol in the background of the main stage. This location, often referred to as “America’s Main Street,” symbolized a significant visibility boost for the LGBTQ community. However, the Washington Post failed to cover the event beyond a simple listing in its events calendar. The outrage that ensued led Capital Pride director Robert York to state: ā€œThis is the biggest and best Pride weā€™ve had, and it is important to see it covered other than in the gay press.ā€

It wasnā€™t until 2007, however, that SaVanna Wanzer, a trans woman of color and Capital Pride board member, successfully established Capital Trans Pride. “The transgender community needs its own event,ā€ Wanzer stated, ā€œrather than just using us as entertainment. That’s all we’ve been allowed to do.ā€ Trans Prideā€™s creation was a significant step toward greater inclusivity within the LGBTQ community.

Our WorldPride 2025 exhibit, ā€œPickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington,ā€ will be installed on Freedom Plaza on May 17 to coincide with DC Trans Pride. We need your help to make it happen.

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Cory Bookerā€™s missed moral moment

Imagine if trans stories had been part of historic speech

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Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) shakes the hand of HRC President Kelley Robinson before a hearing of the United States Senate Judicial Committee on June 21, 2023. Harleigh Walker, seated the center of the photograph, testifies in the hearing. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker sounded joyous, energetic, and heartfelt during his historic 25-hour, five-minute Senate floor speech.  

Like millions of others watching the April 1 conclusion of his marathon homily for everyday people, I spontaneously burst into applause when he crossed the threshold and broke segregationist Strom Thurmondā€™s racist filibuster record against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Booker called Thurmondā€™s 68-year record a ā€œstrange shadowā€ hanging over the Senate.

Bookerā€™s surprise anti-Trump fest, perhaps a predicate for another presidential bid, was a Democratic demonstration of ā€œdoing somethingā€ in homage to his late mentor, civil rights hero John Lewisā€™s call to create ā€œgood trouble.ā€

ā€œI rise tonight with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,ā€ Booker said in his opening remarks. ā€œThese are not normal times in our nation. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent and we all must do more to stand against them.ā€

Unlike others who offer up the usual stale talking points, Booker said, ā€œI rise tonight because to be silent at this moment of national crisis would be a betrayal, and because at stake in this moment is nothing less than everything that makes us who we are,ā€ including ā€œthat everyoneā€™s rights will be equally protected and everyone will be held equally accountable under the law.ā€

Bookerā€™s message was clear: ā€œThis is a moral moment in America. What are we going to do?ā€

Itā€™s a question poking at the conscience of people who believe in fairness. For instance, podcaster Joe Rogan questioned the deportation of a gay hairdresser to a prison camp in El Salvador.  

ā€œThe thing is, like, you got to get scared that people who are not criminals are getting, like, lassoed up and deported and sent to, like, El Salvador prisons,ā€ Rogan said on Saturday. ā€œThis is kind of crazy that that could be possible. Thatā€™s horrific. And thatā€™s, again, thatā€™s bad for the cause. The cause is: Letā€™s get the gang members out. Everybody agrees. But letā€™s not, innocent gay hairdressers, get lumped up with the gangs.ā€

In Wisconsin, voters were so angry at unelected DOGE head billionaire Elon Musk blatantly handing out money to generate interest in a state Supreme Court race, they elected liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford over Trump-endorsed Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in the $100 million contest, the most expensive court race in U.S. history.

ā€œAs a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never imagined Iā€™d be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin ā€” and we won,ā€ Crawford told supporters after her 55 percent to 45 percent victory early Wednesday.

Crawford won despite a last minute anti-trans attack ad. ā€œLet transitioning male teachers use my girls’ bathrooms at school? Allow boys to compete against them in sports? Giving puberty-blocking drugs to children without parents’ consent?,ā€ a woman says in the ad. ā€œThat’s who Susan Crawford sides with, and I’m not OK with any of it.ā€

Apparently Trumpā€™s endorsement and Muskā€™s millions were not enough to push Schimel to victory; they needed to play the anti-trans card. Crawfordā€™s campaign responded with her own hard-hitting ad that ends with: ā€œIā€™m Judge Susan Crawford, and Iā€™ll always follow the law and use common sense to decide whatā€™s right.ā€

Was the last minute play with identity politics helpful or a moot distraction? Many old Democratic politicos want to get rid of identity politics and focus on the issues ā€“ as if the two arenā€™t intertwined.  

Indeed, Cory Bookerā€™s symbolism-caked epic discourse illustrated how identity is the beating heart of politics for anyone whoā€™s not a white straight Christian man.    

ā€œWe have to redeem the dream,ā€ Booker said. ā€œWe have to excite people again. He, in the highest office of our land, wants to divide us against ourselves, wants to make us afraid, wants to make us fear so much that weā€™re willing to violate peopleā€™s fundamental rights.ā€

And yet, other than a quick reference to Stonewall, Booker forgot us during his 25 hours telling stories of regular people. He forgot Harleigh Walker who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about being a trans 16-year-old needing gender-affirming care in Auburn, Ala.

At the June 21, 2023 hearing Protecting Pride: Defending the Civil Rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, Booker talked about being a leader on the Equality Act with John Lewis leading in the House.  

Lewis, a ā€œChristian, Southern, Black, elder man,ā€ would say that ā€œthese [discrimination] issues are so similar to what he was dealing with…Is there a line that goes through about the basic right to be an American and have equal rights?ā€ Booker asked Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson.

ā€œA lot of Americans don’t understand how widespread the bullying and the threats and the violence are,ā€ Booker said. ā€œSomething’s happened in the last decade, of this rise of threats and bullying and violence and murder of LGBTQ Americans at levels that are frightening to me.ā€

Addressing Harleigh Walker, Booker said: ā€œI don’t think most Americans understand what it’s like to try to just live your truth for the average American that is LGBTQ or trans. Could you just tellā€¦how it feels just to be a teenager, living your life as you do?ā€

ā€œIt definitely is a struggle, day to day,ā€ Walker said. ā€œGrowing up in a conservative state where there is a lot of misinformation spread about what trans people are, what we do, and how we’re just like everybody else, it’s definitely been hard for me. Like I said in my testimony, I was severely bullied in middle school to the point where I had to drop out of public school because there was so much hate every day in the hallways, being misgendered, being deadnamed, and it got to physical violence at a certain point. And so I had to drop out of public school for that year, and the school wasn’t doing anything about it.ā€

Booker closed with: ā€œIf this is about protecting our children, the stories of Ms. Walker and other trans children ā€” it just needs to be heard about what you’re enduring.ā€

Imagine if trans stories had been heard as part of Bookerā€™s incredible ā€œMoral Momentā€ speech. Maybe millions more would have awakened to the idea of fairness and equality for ALL.


Karen Ocamb is the former news editor for the Los Angeles Blade and Frontiers. She is currently working on a new LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters project.

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Trump natā€™l security team auditions to be next Marx Brothers

Signal scandal is just the beginning

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From left, Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

We know Trumpā€™s Cabinet members have no real experience in the jobs for which they have been confirmed. But we couldnā€™t have anticipated the royal fuck-up that occurred when the national security team put our national security, and our troops, in danger with their very casual chat, basically public, about classified plans to bomb Yemen. They could be the new Marx Brothers. For those who donā€™t know, the Marx Brothers, were a slapstick comedy act of Chico, Harpo, and Groucho. Their most famous movies are Duck Soup and Night at the Opera. Ā 

Instead of using a sanctioned high-level email for classified material, they used Signal, a public messaging app. While known for its security and privacy, it has also been known to have been hacked. To top that off, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz inadvertently added a journalist to the chat. To make things more bizarre, it now appears one of the people on the chat, Steve Witkoff, a Trump negotiator, was in the Kremlin when he took the call, and Tulsi Gabbard, the DNI, was also out of the country, and apparently took the call on her private phone. Again, the Marx Brothers on steroids. 

I can imagine Trumpā€™s bosom buddy, Vladimir Putin, calling him and saying; ā€œDonald, my good friend, сŠæŠ°ŃŠøĢŠ±Š¾ (thank you), for making my job so easy. I can now just listen in on your national security calls without any problem at all, again thanks!ā€ Our idiot Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth talked about the classified plans giving dates, times, aircraft, etc. These clowns are guilty of a massive breach of national security. Even if they didnā€™t do it on purpose, to help Putin, they are guilty of being morons of the first degree. All of them once castigated Hillary saying, ā€œbut her emails!ā€

Unless Trump and Musk are stopped, this will happen again, until we totally lose our democracy, unless the courts step in, and Republicans in the Senate take their lips off of Trumpā€™s ass long enough to stand up for the Constitution. Knowing some, like Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who is permanently on his knees before Trump, I wonā€™t hold my breath for the Senate as a whole, but in reality, we only need four of them to join with Democrats to stop some of what Trump and his Nazi sympathizing co-president are doing. 

Now Trump wants to take over the post office to control mailing of ballots, and has signed an Executive Order to make voting harder for millions of Americans. One bill in Congress, introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), theĀ Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, could disenfranchise millions of women who have taken their husbandā€™s name after marriage and their birth certificates wonā€™t match the name they are using to vote. This is unconstitutional, but we will see if the courts, all the way to the Supreme Court, will stop this outrage. Then, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), says he can eliminate the federal courts he doesnā€™t like, by simply defunding them. We are truly in uncharted territory.Ā 

While this is both crazy and frightening, I still have some faith things in the long run will work out. That our democracy, which survived a civil war, will survive. Clearly it will take time to rebuild our credibility around the world, and our allies may never again have the same trust in us. I havenā€™t been to Europe since Trump began his rampage and created havoc in the world, but will be going in June. I may just wear a T-shirt saying ā€œDonā€™t blame me, I hate him as much as you do.ā€ I will tell people half of our population thinks as they do, Trump has to go. It isnā€™t like he has the support of a majority of Americans, but had just enough support, from people who believed his bluster and lies, to get elected. The rest of us will continue to try to stop him, and try to reclaim our country. 

Even if we do, it will take time to rebuild the government, the trust of our allies, and even longer to rebuild our culture. To reclaim our belief in equality. Back to a time when white nationalists couldnā€™t stand in the town square proclaiming their hate, and a Nazi sympathizer couldnā€™t stand openly at the arm of our president. A time when racism, homophobia, and misogyny couldnā€™t be spouted openly in the public square. They have always existed, but once again we will not let people speak hate, without recrimination. Some think this is a pipe dream. But we have to try. I still believe if those of us who care act together, we will prevail.


Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.

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