I'm not one to watch reality shows (or their talent search related ilk), but I wish I had a heads-up on this one. During last night's broadcast of America's Got Talent on NBC, the D.C. Cowboys, a gay country-western dance troupe, proved they have what it takes to entertain the masses... or at least to move on to next round. Check out their audition performance above, set to Big & Rich's 2004 single "Save......

The Washington Blade reports that Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry has come out -- in support of same-sex marriage, that is. The mayor-for-life made his stance known for the first time last week at a meeting of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the city's most powerful LGBT political group. During the meeting, Barry responded to a question about same-sex marriage saying, "I don’t think you should make that question a litmus test. But if......

In case you haven't noticed, it's Capital Pride week here in D.C. The 33rd annual celebration of all things LGBT in the nation's capital culminates in a parade tomorrow and the street festival on Sunday. Saturday's parade features head Oscar comedy writer and actor Bruce Vilanch, known for the most recent incarnation of "Hollywood Squares" and originating the role of Edna Turnblad in the touring company of Hairspray, as the celebrity grand marshal. Over 70......

Legislation protecting transgender persons in Montgomery County suffered another blow this week as a judge sided with groups opposing that legislation, reports the Washington Post. This brings the possibility that voters will be able to decide on whether the law stays or goes even closer. Last November, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett signed off on bill 23-07, which would protect transgender persons against discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations among others. By February, a......

As Capital Pride weekend approaches, this morning the Washington Blade reports that Mayor Adrian Fenty is ordering a review of the city's legal options in anticipation of same-sex couples in D.C. heading to California next week to get married. Nearly one month ago, the California State Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage; the court's decision goes into effect Monday at 5 p.m. PDT. Interim attorney general Peter Nickles has been directed to......

As if yesterday's news from California wasn't enough to get gays everywhere excited, same-sex couples here in D.C. recently got a little something extra to celebrate. Early last week the D.C. Council expanded its domestic partners law, granting registered couples rights previously only granted through marriage. The Council passed the measure, titled the Omnibus Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2008, unanimously on May 6. Councilmember Phil Mendelson wrote the legislation and was its lead......

Voters in the city of Falls Church made history this week as Lawrence Webb became the first openly gay black man elected to public office in Virginia. Webb announced his candidacy last fall and was up against several other candidates for the three open City Council seats in Tuesday's general election. He won a seat by a margin of 39 votes with all precincts reporting. Nader Baroukh and Robin S. Gardner won the other two......

We mentioned it briefly at the end of the day yesterday, but more details are available about the charges against a Georgetown University student accused of committing a hate crime against another student in September, which were dropped by the U.S. Attorney's office due to a lack of evidence. The victim, who today remains unidentified in news reports, said he was followed September 9 by two men who yelled homophobic slurs at him; one of......

In the contest that was "Capital Pride Producer Idol" (Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it?), we now have a winner. The Whitman-Walker Clinic (WWC) will turn the event over to the Capital Pride Alliance next year. The Alliance is a relatively new group formed last year by longtime members of the Capital Pride Committee. The group beat out three others: the LGBT Community Center; the Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation, formed by the Westminster......

Congregants consider homophobia as a possible reason behind a shooting at the Metropolitan Community Church in Shaw on Friday evening, WJLA reports. MCC serves a predominantly LGBT congregation, and this marks the second time in recent history that the church was the victim of gunfire. At the time of the shooting, several church members were inside the building for a Bible study. People inside either quickly hit the floor or ran for cover as bullets......

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler is now the first statewide elected official to support same-sex marriage. Gansler made his support known yesterday before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on the proposed same-sex marriage bill. Gansler's office -- under his predecessor, J. Joseph Curran, Jr. -- successfully defended Maryland against a suit brought by gay couples who wanted to overturn the 34-year-old state law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. But......

The gay blogosphere is alight with the news that a female choir member at the Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church on Rhode Island Ave. outed over 100 church members in two separate emails to Bishop Alfred Owens, Jr. The first email, sent last month, named 45 members as gay; the second email, sent earlier this month, names over 60 additional people. An anonymous gay former church member supplied the Washington Blade with copies of the......

The Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Protection Act will be introduced by two state senators today. Senators Jamie Raskin and Rich Madaleno, both Democrats from Montgomery County, will be named as the bill's lead Senate sponsors. They will fill the sponsorship void left by Senator Gwendolyn Britt, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. The proposed bill validates marriages between "two people, not otherwise prohibited from marrying" instead of the one male and one......

Towleroad tipped us off to a Baltimore Sun poll that shows a majority of Maryland voters support same-sex unions in some form. Same-sex marriage is currently illegal in Maryland and it was only a week ago that the state defined domestic partnership, which applies to both gay and straight couples. Nearly 3 out of every 5 Maryland voters polled said the state should recognize same-sex unions; 19 percent support same-sex marriages and 39 percent back......

NBC4 reports today on an investigation launched by the D.C. Fire Department after an allegedly insensitive letter was read aloud at the Engine 30 firehouse in Northeast. According to the report, the letter, read by the station's lieutenant, was supposed to be a humorous attempt at introducing a new crew member. Instead, the letter included what was seen as potentially disparaging remarks, implying he's gay. The lieutenant was asked more than once to stop reading......

Late last week, a joint Maryland state House-Senate committee approved a new regulation that defines domestic partnerships. A state law passed last year required not only health insurers to offer domestic partner coverage to companies that request it, but also the Maryland Insurance Administration to define domestic partnerships. The law took effect January 1. The regulation defines domestic partners as a couple whose members are at least 18 years of age and "who for at......

Yesterday, the Whitman-Walker Clinic announced plans to restructure itself, with a focus on expanding its medical services. With the restructuring comes layoffs from within its nearly 240 member staff as early as today. WWC didn't specify how many would be let go, and published news reports currently give inconsistent figures; Metro Weekly says up to 10 percent of staff will be cut, while the Washington Post reports closer to 25 percent. The staff reduction will......

Did you know that D.C. has an Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs? I certainly didn't, and the Office's annual report indicated that it has more work to do to raise awareness of its existence. After surveys administered online, at DC Black Pride and Capital Pride, the office found that respondents rated the agency an average of 3.3 points on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being least aware of the office......

The AP via Baltimore's WJZ-TV reports the issue of same-sex marriage rights in Maryland will pop up again next week. This time around, it's the state legislature and not the courts who get to rule on the matter. Back in September, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that laws banning same-sex marriages did not violate the state constitution. This contradicted a January 2007 ruling in the Baltimore Circuit Court that the laws were discriminatory and......

Via the Washington Blade, three organizations are competing to take over Capital Pride from the Whitman-Walker Clinic, which began organizing the event in 1997 with One In Ten, DC's LGBT arts group. Whitman-Walker became the sole producer and financier of Capital Pride in 2000. The three interested parties include the Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation, a group founded by the Westminster Presbyterian Church; the LGBT Community Center; and the recently-formed Capital Pride Alliance. All submitted proposals......

Last night, Fox 5 reported on an alarming attack of a gay man by six or seven men on the Metro. "Nathaniel," as he's referred to in the report, was riding alone on a train Friday night. As the doors closed at Metro Center, the group surrounded and beat Nathaniel, kicking him as he fell to the floor and yelling "faggot". Nathaniel managed to get off the train at the Smithsonian station, and he ran......

DC for Marriage, an eight-month-old group advocating same-sex marriage rights in the District, will hold a "Marriage Equality Community Forum" tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in room 412 of the Wilson Building. This is the group's first public event, which is co-sponsored by several local LGBT organizations including the DC Center, DC Black Pride, AQUA DC, and the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, among others. Yesterday, DC for Marriage announced Sabrina Sojourner, the first open......

The anti-gay, right wing group Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) will present "raw and unedited" footage shot at this year's Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco at the National Press Club at 1 p.m. tomorrow. AFTAH president Peter LaBarbera specifically targets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with this conference, urging her "to do the right thing by condemning the public nudity and perversions — and blatant anti-Christian bigotry — that occurred in her......

If you're down on the National Mall this weekend and see, oh, 12,000 flags stuck in the ground, don't be alarmed. The Federal Government hasn't started an experimental flag farm, nor is the display an effort of the area's squirrels to show their patriotism. The flags have been planted to represent the 12,000 members of the United States military who have been discharged under the practice of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The policy, which governs......

Washington, D.C. makes yet another top ten list. A new study names our beloved city as the 8th gayest in the country. Frankly, a couple of us here at DCist thought we were gayer than that. The study, by Gary J. Gates of UCLA's Williams Institute, analyzed data on same-sex couples from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. censuses along with that from American Community Surveys (ACS) between 2002 and 2006. Cities and states were ranked......

Last night at 7 p.m., approximately 30 LGBTs and their supporters gathered inside the Rite Aid at the corner of 13th and U St. NW for a "hug-in." The event was a response to the reported ousting of a hugging gay couple by the store's manager last week. Although organizer The New Gay had asked people not to give the store any warning, the staff (and security guard) didn't seem very surprised when the......

Following up on Friday's entry about a gay couple who was kicked out of the Rite Aid at 13th and U Streets NW, the New Gay is organizing a hug-in set to take place at the store tomorrow night at 7 p.m., just before the annual 17th Street High Heel Race. If you plan to go, be sure to pledge your attendance via evite. The New Gay asks two things for everyone participating in......

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist......

This week's Metro Weekly reports some disturbing news that a gay couple was kicked out of a local Rite Aid pharmacy without reason. Jay Hill and Mike Browne went into the store at 13th and U streets NW last Friday to make a purchase, and they embraced as they browsed an aisle. Hill told MW the manager walked by, saw them and did a double take. The manager then asked the security guard on duty......

After two hate crimes this fall and a foiled attempt by a student LGBT group to deliver a petition to him, Georgetown University President John DeGioia announced last night that the school will have a dedicated LGBTQ resource center by next fall. Scott Chessare, co-president of Georgetown's LGBT student group GU Pride, called the announcement a win and said to the Georgetown Voice, "I don’t think we would have believed less than two months ago......