Local
Gay parents, kids participate in ‘Adoption Day’
Brook Rose and Gregg Busch with their newly-adopted son, Nolan Reese Rose-Busch, at an adoption day proceeding last weekend in D.C. Superior Court. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Relatives and friends wept in joy and cheered as at least four gay male couples carried or walked with their children to a stage at the D.C. Superior Court on Saturday, Nov. 17, where judges signed papers finalizing the adoption of their kids.
With D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and a contingent of family court judges, social workers, and lawyers looking on, the gay couples joined at least 25 straight couples or single parents who had their children’s adoptions finalized during the city’s 26th Annual Adoption Day ceremony.
“The ceremony is designed to celebrate the joy of adoption and encourage area residents to consider adopting or fostering a child in the District’s public child welfare system,” said a statement released by the Superior Court and the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, which facilitates adoptions in the city.
Among the couples participating in the ceremony were Reginald Wilson and his husband Wesley McCammon, who recently moved from Mississippi to the D.C. area, where they adopted Reginald Jr., 9, and his biological sister, Regina, 10.
As the family was introduced by the ceremony’s emcee, NBC News 4 anchor Barbara Harrison, Wilson wept uncontrollably, saying later he was overcome by joy at the columniation of his and his husband’s dream of becoming a family with children.
Gray, who was sitting nearby, walked over to Wilson and hugged him. About a half hour earlier, the mayor delivered remarks praising the city’s adoption program and expressing support for D.C.’s longstanding policy of allowing same-sex couples to adopt.
“We’ve come to an age of enlightenment where, of course, we recognize traditional families and hope that they will adopt,” Gray said. “But also single adults ought to be considered for adoption because they make wonderful adoptive families,” he told the gathering. “And frankly, I’m proud to be in a city where we have approved marriage equality and we have some of the most loving families in the city who are same-sex couples.”
Chad Copeland, Scooter Ward and their son, Norman Moore with Judge Noel Johnson at an adoption day proceeding last weekend in D.C. Superior Court. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Also participating in the ceremony were D.C. residents Chad Copeland and Kevin “Scooter” Ward and their adopted son Norman, 5; and Silvio Weisner and his husband Jeffrey Weisner and their 10-month-old adopted daughter Madeleine Susannah Weisner.
“She was born just outside of Houston, Texas, and we were there on the day she was born,” Silvio Weisner told the Blade. “We brought her home to D.C. nine days later.”
Judith Sandalow, executive director of the D.C.-based Children’s Law Center, which provides legal services to people seeking to adopt or become foster parents, said the city’s Child and Family Services Agency routinely approves gay people and same-sex couples as foster or adoptive parents.
She said anyone interested in learning more about how to adopt or become a foster parent should contact the agency at 202-671-LOVE or go its adoption/foster care website, adoptdckids.org.
Maryland
Union leader files assault complaint against gay Md. delegate after fight at early-voting site
Del. Gabriel Acevero, Gino Renne accuse each other of starting confrontation
By ANTONIO PLANAS | After a physical confrontation outside an early-voting site Thursday, local union leader Gino Renne filed an assault complaint against Del. Gabriel Acevero, who said he plans to do the same.
Each accuses the other of starting the fight and throwing punches in an incident Thursday at about 6 p.m. at the Bohrer Park Activity Center in Gaithersburg, police said. The park, an early-voting site that day, attracted many candidates and their supporters.
Acevero, 35, is defending his seat representing District 39, which includes Montgomery Village and surrounding areas. The primary is on Tuesday.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Delaware
Delaware guv signs bill to protect children born using assisted reproduction
‘Modernizing laws to better reflect and protect today’s families’
Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer on June 9 signed SB 250, a bill that helps fill the gaps in the state’s parentage law.
SB 250 amends the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act to broaden the state’s legal framework for surrogacy. Prior to SB 250, some children, particularly those born through assisted reproduction or surrogacy, did not have a clear path to a legally recognized relationship with their parents. This created issues around parental decision-making and children’s access to health insurance.
According to the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Marie Pinkney, SB 250 ensures that every child in the state has a secure legal relationship with their parents. She said the bill modernizes outdated statutes and strengthens protections for children born through assisted reproduction or surrogacy.
These issues are more likely to affect queer families that rely on assisted reproduction methods to have children. Parentage laws are critical to the well-being of children and the ability of parents to care for them without unnecessary legal barriers.
“Today, we celebrate a victory for all children and families in Delaware. By modernizing its laws to better reflect and protect today’s families, Delaware has set an example for states across the country,” said Jordan Wilson, executive director of COLAGE.
COLAGE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering youth in LGBTQ+ families through activism and community.
“We are grateful to the many families and advocates who worked tirelessly to advance this legislation, from the bill’s drafters to the COLAGErs who shared their lived experiences directly with lawmakers,” said Wilson.
“Delaware is strongest when the law respects and protects all families,” said Mark Purpura, board member of Equality Delaware, a statewide organization focused on promoting and ensuring dignity, safety, and equality for all LGBTQ+ Delawareans.
The bill’s sponsors and co-sponsors include Sen. Pinkney, Rep. Krista Griffith, Sens. Russ Huxtable, Raymond Seigfried, and David Sokola; and Reps. Alonna Berry, Mara Gorman, Kerri Harris, Eric Morrison, DeShanna Neal, Sophie Phillips, and Cyndie Romer.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth’s ‘Poodle Beach’ to be honored with historical marker
Delaware Public Archives to hold ceremony June 27
The Delaware Public Archives is set to unveil a new State of Delaware Historical Marker recognizing Rehoboth’s Poodle Beach Saturday, June 27, at 9 a.m. The unveiling will take place at the corner of Prospect Street and the South Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
The unveiling ceremony is free and open to the public and will include remarks from members of the community, government officials, and representatives from the Delaware Public Archives.
Located at the southern end of the boardwalk near Queen Street, Poodle Beach is one of the most famous sections of Rehoboth Beach, having served as a gathering place for the LGBTQ community for decades.
The Delaware Public Archives said that, “The marker recognizes the site’s longstanding role in the social and cultural history of both Rehoboth Beach and the State of Delaware.”
The petition to have Poodle Beach recognized with a historical marker was started by a group of Rehoboth Beach residents in June 2020 and was officially approved in December 2020.
Although the origins of where Poodle Beach got its name are unknown, its history can be traced back to du Pont heiress and well-known lesbian Louisa Carpenter. Carpenter and her LGBTQ group of friends would travel to ‘Carpenter Beach’ toward Dewey Beach in the19 30s and ‘40s.
Over time, the beach grew in popularity and began to be used predominantly by gay men in the following decades. It wasn’t until the ‘80s when the beach spread back toward the boardwalk as people stopped making the journey to Carpenter beach.
Poodle Beach was initially called “Lazy Gay Beach” because gay men got tired of walking so far from the boardwalk to get to Carpenter Beach.
There are multiple theories that explain how the name ‘Poodle Beach’ came to be. One of the most popular is the ‘Two cousin theory’ where it is rumored that a pair of cousins would drive up from Maryland and bring their poodle dogs onto the beach.
Poodle was also the site of the popular Labor Day weekend drag volleyball games that were started in 1988 and ended with COVID in 2020.
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