Local
D.C. LGBTQ Harris-Walz group seeks volunteers for phone bank
A local group of volunteers organized by gay D.C. State Board of Education member Allister Chang is working with the Kamala Harris presidential campaign to operate a twice-weekly phone bank through which LGBTQ volunteers call voters in swing states to urge them to turn out to vote and to vote for Harris and Tim Walz.
Called Out For Harris-Walz DC, the group’s volunteers assemble each Wednesday between 6-8 p.m. at the Woman’s National Democratic Club at 1526 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., and each Saturday from 2-4 p.m. at the Human Rights Campaign headquarters at 1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W. where the phone bank operation takes place.
Chang, who is running unopposed for re-election this year for his Ward 2 school board seat, said he and others who helped him organize the Out for Harris-Walz DC phone bank effort did so because they want to do all they can to help the Harris-Walz ticket win in what election experts say is a race too close to call against GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
With D.C.’s three electoral votes certain to go to Harris with D.C.’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate, Chang said he and his fellow volunteers want to help the Harris-Walz campaign win in the key battleground or swing states that are expected to decide the winner on Nov. 5.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is that the vast majority of people who are joining this, including myself, are first-time volunteers for a national campaign,” Chang said. “And I think that’s also representative of the responsibility we feel at this time to do something to make a difference,” he said, especially since the outcome of the presidential election is expected to have a major impact on the LGBTQ community.
Chang told the Washington Blade that about 15 volunteers turned out on Oct. 2 at the Woman’s National Democratic Club for the launching of the Out for Harris-Walz DC phone banking. He said about 15 turned out on Saturday, Oct. 5, for the kickoff of the group’s phone banking at the HRC building.
Through a social media promotional campaign, Chang said about 50 LGBTQ volunteers turned out to do the phone banking this past Saturday, Oct. 12, at the HRC location. Amazingly, he said 261 people have signed up through an online site to do the phone banking this Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Woman’s National Democratic Club.
According to Chang, the Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee have provided a high-tech platform using the online site called Mobilize to give instructions on how to make the phone calls though the volunteers’ own cell phones and through use of their own laptops, which volunteers are asked to bring with them.
Although volunteers use their own phones, the calls go through a campaign connection that uses a different phone number, not the caller’s number, Chang said. He said volunteers are also given a script to read to voters they call before engaging in a dialogue with the voters.
“They’re not necessarily Democrats,” Chang said of the voters that he and other volunteers have been calling. “All of us have spoken to a bunch of folks who are undecided, who are Trump supporters as well as supporters of Harris-Walz,” he said. “And the opportunity for us is to really engage.”
Chang noted that Out for Harris-Walz DC is being supported by the D.C. gay bars Number 9, JR’s, and Crush, among other things, by their hosting gatherings for the volunteers. He said Number 9 is offering a complimentary drink for the volunteers after they finish their phone banking on Saturdays at the HRC building.
Out for Harris-Walz DC is urging LGBTQ community members to turn out to volunteer for the phone banking in the remaining total of six days on Wednesdays and Saturdays before the Nov. 5 election through these signup links: events.democrats.org/event/704929/ and events.democrats.org/event/714458.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump
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.
“F—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,” 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.
District of Columbia
Little Gay Pub to host April 25 celebration of life for Patrick Shaw
School teacher, D.C. resident praised for ‘warmth, humor, kindness’
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.
“Patrick touched so many lives with his warmth, humor, kindness, and unmistakable spark,” Martinez said. “He was a truly special soul – funny, vibrant, sassy, and full of life and we are heartbroken by his loss.”
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.
“Patrick brought warmth, joy, and deep commitment to Mundo Verde,” his colleagues said in their posting. “His daily Broadway sing-alongs, vibrant outfits, and genuine love for his students filled our community with energy and laughter.”
The posted message adds, “Patrick 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.”
The Washington Blade is preparing a full obituary on Patrick Shaw to be published soon.
District of Columbia
D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case
Victim threatened with assault, called ‘faggot’ as he left Capitals game
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.
“Suspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a ‘faggot’ among other homophobic slurs,” the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and “snatching” the phone from the victim’s hand.
“Suspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,” the report continues. “Suspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed ‘if you keep recording, I’m going to kick your ass.’” The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.
It lists the incident as a “Threats To Do Bodily Harm” offense that is a suspected hate crime.
“Anyone 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,” 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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