Local
Calvin Steinmetz dies at 62
Attorney and gay sports league enthusiast
Calvin Steinmetz, an attorney who practiced law for more than 30 years in D.C., Maryland and Virginia and most recently in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., died Dec. 5 at his home in Wilton Manors, Fla., following a year-and-a-half battle with brain cancer, according to Brian Boyle, his partner of 30 years. He was 62.
Friends and associates said Steinmetzās law practice took on a wide range of cases over the years, including criminal defense work, civil litigation and ānuts and boltsā legal work such as preparing wills and trusts, powers of attorney and estate planning and administration.
They noted his friendly demeanor and close attention to details and the needs of his clients made him especially popular with those who retained his services for years, with many becoming friends.
āCal was one of the good guys,ā said D.C. gay activist Robert York. āHe had a way of making any stranger feel like a longtime friend. He was a friend, mentor and a leader on the field of softball and even more so in the field of life.ā
York was referring to Steinmetzās lifelong passion for softball as well as basketball and bowling, which his former law partner in Washington, Steve Weinberg, said manifested itself in Steinmetzās dedicated support for gay sports leagues in D.C. and later in Fort Lauderdale.
For many years Steinmetz, a native New Yorker, sponsored and played for a gay softball team in D.C. that he named Calmets, Weinberg said, after his beloved New York Mets baseball team. The team is part of the Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League, known as CAPS, an LGBT sports league for which Steinmetz served as commissioner, Weinberg said.
Steinmetz was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. He received a bachelorās degree in history from the University of Rochester in New York in 1974 and a law degree from George Washington University School of Law in 1977.
Although he planned to start his law practice in the D.C. metropolitan area, Weinberg said Steinmetz applied for and became qualified to practice law in Florida after taking his first job with a D.C. law firm that specialized in abortion rights cases in several states, including Florida.
Steinmetz also became licensed to practice in D.C., Virginia and Maryland and eventually was admitted to take cases before federal district and appeals courts in those three jurisdictions as well as before the U.S. Supreme Court.
For most of his years practicing in D.C., Steinmetz and various law partners, including Weinberg, worked out of offices at 2141 P St., N.W., just off of Dupont Circle, in the heart of the cityās most visible gay neighborhood.
Shortly after moving his law practice to Fort Lauderdale in 2009, Steinmetz opened an office on Wilton Drive in the heart of Wilton Manors, a small city that boasts of having the Ft. Lauderdale areaās highest concentration of LGBT residents.
āCal was a great friend, a great athlete and a great lawyer,ā said Lori Bott and Geri English in a Facebook message.
In addition to Boyle, Steinmetz is survived by his sister, Barbara Parker, his nephew Jody Parker and Parkerās wife Jordana, and his niece Mara Smith and her husband Mike.
āDonations in his memory should be made to your local No Kill Animal Shelter or Rescue League,ā Boyle said.
A celebration of life gathering in Steinmetzās honor was scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Fort Lauderdale LGBT community center known as Pride Center-Equality Park in Wilton Manors, Fla.
Weinberg said a celebration of life gathering in D.C. is expected to be held Jan. 17 at a time and location to be announced soon.
Virginia
Man went on āhomophobic rantā inside Va. pub that displayed Pride flags
Suspect arrested on charges of public intoxication, assaulting police officer
The Hawk & Griffin British Pub located in Vienna, Va., posted a message on Facebook last week saying a man was arrested after going on a āhomophobic rantā inside the pub on June 28 when he saw that LGBTQ Pride flags were displayed at the pub for Pride month.
āLast night we had an incident here at the pub when a man came off the street to accost patrons in our beer garden because of our flags displayed for pride month,ā the Hawk & Griffin Facebook posting says. āHe then spit on our windows and came inside to confront our staff and patrons with homophobic rants,ā the posting continues.
āOur manager and staff handled the situation very professionally and police were called to investigate and later arrested a man a couple of blocks away,ā the message says. āWe want to thank the Vienna Police Department for their quick response. We are and will continue to be community focused and we will never stop working to create and maintain a place of inclusion and tolerance,ā the statement concludes.
Vienna police charged Justin Wayne Hendricks, of no known address, with misdemeanor counts of being ādrunk in publicā and providing false identification to a police officer and with a felony count of assault on a police officer. A police spokesperson said Hendricks was also found to be in violation of an outstanding arrest warrant from Alexandria, Va., related to a prior charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
The spokesperson, Juan Vazquez, said Hendricks is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. Online records for the Fairfax County General District Court show that Hendricks is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9.
āOn Friday, June 28, around 9:28 p.m. the Vienna Police Department responded to reports of an intoxicated individual threatening customers of the Hawk & Griffin,ā a Vienna police statement says. āUpon the arrival of the officers the individual had already left the premises but was promptly located at an address nearby,ā according to the statement.
The statement adds that Hendricks was subsequently charged with being drunk in public, providing false information about his identity to police, and assault on a police officer along with being served with the outstanding warrant related to the prior charge in Alexandria of failing to register as a sex offender.
Details of the prior sex offender charge couldnāt immediately be obtained from online court records. However, the online records show that Hendricks has at least a dozen or more prior arrests between 2014 and 2023 on charges including public intoxication, trespassing, and failing to register as a sex offender.
Police spokesperson Vazquez said it would be up to prosecutors with the office of the Fairfax County Commonwealthās Attorney to determine if a subsequent hate crime related charge would be filed in the case.
Virginia
Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.
Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22
Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.
Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June.
Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk.
PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.
Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.
Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.
āYou know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,ā Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.
āIt was a great year,ā he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.ā
State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond.
Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.
The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state.
Baltimore
Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist
Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.
Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.
A section of Baltimoreās 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.
The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.
A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women ānavigating survival modeā living.
āThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā the statement says. āOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā it says.
Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottās Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.
āThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. āIya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,ā it says. āThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā
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