Results tagged “lgbt>”

With a D.C. Council vote on same-sex marriage just over a week away, a compromise proposed to assuage concerns expressed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington remains uncertain.

From the ashes of the Washington Blade, DC Agenda has risen. The staff of the suddenly shuttered LGBT publication has managed to put together a new web site and "a modest, early iteration" of a print edition, both out today, less than a week after they all lost their jobs. From their introductory message:

The former staff of the Washington Blade remains united and DC Agenda represents our effort at continuing the important mission and work of the Blade. It will grow and evolve to include a much larger and more diverse group of voices. But the core of the Washington Blade’s work remains unchanged. We will cover Congress, the White House, the LGBT rights movement, the D.C. marriage fight, local hate crimes and other political issues important to the LGBT residents of the city.

Continue reading "Former Blade Staffers Launch 'DC Agenda'"

A Georgetown student says she was attacked on Tuesday night because she was wearing a gay rights T-shirt, WJLA is reporting.

Police say it happened Tuesday night near the school’s entrance on Canal Road. The female student says two men started insulting her with derogatory comments based on her perceived sexual orientation. Then, officers say, the men took her book bag, pushed her to the ground, and then struck her with the bag.

Continue reading "Anti-Gay Assault Reported in Georgetown"

The tortured case of the beating death of gay Maryland man Tony Hunter has at last drawn to a close, as D.C. Superior Court Judge Rafael Diaz sentenced defendant Robert Hannah, 19, to 180 days in jail on Wednesday, the Washington Blade reports. The sentence represents the maximum jail time allowable for Hannah's conviction on a misdemeanor assault charge. Hannah will also get credit for time served, the Blade says, which is about two months already. Hunter's mother told the paper she was "not pleased" with the outcome. There has been much public outcry on the reduced charges to which Hannah eventually was allowed to plead guilty, but ultimately a grand jury did not find sufficient evidence to pursue a manslaughter charge. Friends of the victim have maintained that Hunter was beaten in an unprovoked attack that may have been an anti-gay incident.

Workers this morning outside the D.C. headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign, one of the most influential LGBT organizations in the country, were finishing cleaning up graffiti left by vandals there over the weekend.

In an announcement today from Cologne, Germany — host city of the 2010 Gay Games — the Federation of Gay Games named Cleveland the host for their 2014 multi-sport event. Nearly one year ago, the organization selected Washington, D.C. as one of four finalists, pared down from 14 entries. D.C., Boston and Cleveland all submitted formal bids earlier this year; Miami, the fourth city, missed the bid submission deadline and was therefore no longer in contention.

The D.C. area's most vocal gay marriage opponent, Maryland's Bishop Harry Jackson, spoke to a crowd of social conservatives over the weekend at the annual Values Voter Summit, a convention that serves as a 'merger of mainstream Republican Party rhetoric and the priorities of "Christian right" activists.' Video of Jackson's speech is posted above, courtesy YouTube.

The Post is reporting that Robert Hannah has indeed pleaded guilty on simple assault charges in the beating death of Tony Hunter. Word of a plea agreement in the case first leaked out two weeks ago, which prompted D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson to fire off a letter to Acting U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips, urging him to take the case to trial. The deal, it turns out, came about because Hannah was arrested for shoplifting last month for allegedly trying to steal items from an H&M, according to the Post. In exchange for his guilty plea, the shoplifting charge was dropped. Hannah's case has been controversial since the original charges against him were reduced from a felony to misdemeanor, based on his assertion that he only hit Hunter, a gay Maryland man, because Hunter sexually assaulted him before the attack. A friend of Hunter's who was with him at the time has maintained that Hannah's actions were unprovoked. Hannah will be sentenced on Oct. 14. He faces a maximum of 180 days in jail.

At-large D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson today sent a letter to acting U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips urging him to "please reconsider and proceed to trial" with Robert Hannah, the man accused in the beating death of Tony Hunter. Hannah has reportedly been in talks to reach a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Over at the Washington Blade, Lou Chibbaro, Jr. reports that the man who has been charged with misdemeanor assault in the beating death of Tony Randolph Hunter may be about to negotiate a plea bargain that could reduce or eliminate the time he spends in jail. D.C. resident Robert Hannah had initially been charged with voluntary manslaughter, but the charges against him were later reduced, and now the suspect might end up not even serving the maximum 180 days in jail associated with that crime. Hunter, a gay Maryland man, died last year after an altercation with Hannah near the former BeBar gay bar in the Shaw neighborhood. The killing has been charged with controversy due to Hannah's claim that Hunter sexually assaulted him prior to the attack. A friend of Hunter's who was with him at the time has maintained that Hannah's actions were unprovoked.

Another violent daytime crime in the District to report this afternoon. At approximately 2:50 p.m., two transgendered men were stabbed in front of 209 Q Street NW, D.C. police said. Both of the victims were transported to area hospitals, where one of them died a short time later. Police would not speculate on a possible motive in the attack, though a suspect is said to have been spotted fleeing the scene before first responders arrived. FOX 5 also has the story.

The video itself is grainy and hard to make out. Here's what the folks at Tastee have to say about its contents:

"We believe inappropriate behavior is what was going on here and that the discrimination allegations are false. In this video, the couple was sitting right inside the restaurant front door pressed up against each other and during their interaction, one was burying her face in the other's breasts. They were asked to tone it down but responded angrily so they were asked to leave. Nothing more - any couple regardless of gender or sexual orienation would have been asked to leave Tastee Diner in the same situation."

After reviewing the video several times, I'm still not buying Tastee's version of the story here. It looks like the two women were holding each other and hugging, one while seated and the other while standing. Yes, that meant that the seated woman had her face against the other's breasts, but try to imagine instead that the couple was heterosexual, and the woman was seated while the man was standing. Would they have been perceived as being "inappropriate" if they had engaged in the exact same behavior? Definitely not. And if the issue here is face-in-breasts, then let's reverse it: a man is seated and embracing a woman who is standing in front of him. He presses his face against her breasts. Is that couple asked to leave, too? I have a hard time believing that they are, unless the woman's breasts are actually exposed, which doesn't appear to have been the case here.

The Washington Blade reports (hat tip to The New Gay) that a kiss-in protest is planned for this evening at the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring. Aiyi'nah Ford and Torian Brown, a local lesbian couple, say that during a recent visit, they were asked to leave the restaurant by the manager after he observed them embracing.

Ford said a manager she identified only by the first name Paul, asked if they could "please take that outside." Ford asked Paul if he was serious, and he said that he was. Ford noted that a heterosexual couple was kissing at a nearby booth.

Continue reading "Kiss-In Protest Planned for Tastee Diner Tonight"

ANC 5A Commissioner Bob King sent out a press release earlier this week encouraging the public, and especially his fellow ANC commissioners, to sign on to a same-sex marriage ballot initiative. The move is an effort to preempt a bill expected from the D.C. Council on the subject later this year. In a statement in favor of a popular vote on marriage equality, King argues that "the issue of same-sex marriage is the most contentious issues of the 21st century, and the people must be heard." King's proposal doesn’t take a position, either for or against, same-sex marriage, but the Washington Blade quotes D.C. for Marriage chair Michael Crawford arguing that King's ballot initiative plan is "an attempt to go around our elected officials in order to attack gay and lesbian families."

Vandals attacked a window display that featured pro-LGBT T-shirts at the Silver Spring American Apparel store on Monday morning, The Sexist reports, shattering a window in the process. The Georgetown location of American Apparel also received a telephone threat later that day about their similar window display.

As City Desk noted last week, D.C. will recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions starting 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, barring any last-ditch appeal today. That’s when the clock runs out on the 30-day congressional review of the marriage recognition bill passed in May by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Fenty. The Board of Elections and Ethics recently rejected an attempt led by Maryland Bishop Harry Jackson to put the bill up for a referendum, a decision upheld by Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin.

Head over to City Desk if you'd like to download a pdf copy of Judge Judith Retchin's Superior Court decision from earlier today, in which she ruled against the request of petitioners Bishop Harry Jackson et al. to put a halt to the D.C. Council's same sex marriage recognition law. Not only did Retchin rule that stopping the clock on the legislation, which is set to take effect next week, was not warranted, she went so far as to rule more broadly that the landmark 1995 Dean v. District decision does not apply to this case. Here's the key passage: "The Court in Dean did not consider whether the government could refuse to recognize the legal right of persons to remain married solely because of their sexual orientation. In fact, the Court in Dean could not have addressed this issue because when Dean was decided in 1995, no state had legalized same-sex marriage." We expect Jackson and his anti-gay marriage crusaders to head straight over to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

D.C. Public Schools will release its summer reading list for students Friday, and some local librarians have alleged that gay titles under early consideration were removed.

Tim Craig is reporting in the WaPo that D.C. Council Chair Vincent Gray appears to be feeling rather wishy-washy about the possibility of bringing same-sex marriage legislation before the voters, in the form of a referendum. "I really haven't thought much about this," Gray said, noting that he intends to take the temperature of the other Council members before making up his mind. In the event you, DCist readers, have managed to find the time in your busy lives to think on this issue and would like to share your thoughts with the Chairman, you can contact his office at (202) 724-8032, or email vgray@dccouncil.us.

The District of Columbia today gained a few more members of Congress who think they know what's best for our city. A handful of socially conservative House members gathered reporters this afternoon to introduce a bill that would define marriage in D.C. as a "union of one man and one woman," Politico reports. The effort is designed to signal opposition to recent D.C. Council action that would allow same-sex marriages legally performed in other states to be recognized in the District, as well as any further local legislation that might come this year to legalize such ceremonies in D.C.

It's been five months since the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Durval Martins, who was killed at the corner of 11th and Q Streets NW as he walked home from Fox & Hounds on Dec. 16. Martins was shot multiple times in the head, nothing was stolen from him (including his wallet), and no suspect has been identified in the case.

Social divisions and fissures make for good headlines. After all, it's much easier to write about group A feuding with group B than it is to have to explain that neither A nor B are neatly recognizable groups.

Groups including Bilerico D.C., The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and The Log Cabin Republicans of Metro D.C. sponsored a community forum on gay marriage and the faith community Wednesday night at All Souls Church in Adams Morgan. The panel featured Episcopal priest Rev. Monique Ellison, D.C. For Marriage Chair Michael Crawford and ACLU attorney Sharon McGowan.

This year's Capital Pride street festival will close out with a dose of hair, heels and attitude. WTOP reports that the Capital Pride Alliance - you may recall they beat out two other groups to produce the annual event this year - announced RuPaul as this year's headlining act. The entertainer will perform on the festival's main stage on Pennsylvania Avenue on June 14. RuPaul rose to fame in the early 1990s with the single "Supermodel (You Better Work)," and currently hosts RuPaul's Drag Race on Logo. Her most recent album, Champion, dropped in February.

During a live interview yesterday afternoon on NewsChannel 8's Let's Talk Live, co-host Doug McKelway lost all sense of professionalism while interviewing gay blogger Michael Rogers about the upcoming documentary film, Outrage. Rogers appears in the film, directed by Kirby Dick (This Film Is Not Yet Rated), which targets politicians who are known (or rumored) closet cases but who also fight against policies that would be beneficial to the LGBT population.

DC for Marriage will hold a rally for marriage equality tomorrow at the John A. Wilson Building as the D.C. Council prepares to cast its final vote on a bill that would allow the District to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally outside of D.C. The rally begins as early as 8 a.m. and the Council session begins at 10. Rally participants are asked to wear white in support of marriage equality.

Ward 8 D.C. Council member and former mayor Marion Barry today said that he opposes a measure that would allow the District of Columbia to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal. Barry made his remarks to a crowd of around 150 gathered to protest the legislation in Freedom Plaza this morning.

Already some big news out of the D.C. Council's busy legislative session. In a unanimous preliminary vote, the Council voted today to explicitly recognize same-sex marriages granted by other states, the Post reports. While the District has long recognized domestic partnerships between gay couples, it had not formally recognized such marriages granted in states such as Connecticut or Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage has been legalized. This bill, introduced by At-large Council member Phil Mendelson (D), stops short of legalizing same-sex marriage in the District, but another At-large member, David Catania (I), has long promised that he plans to introduce such a measure before the Council this year.

Whackadoo Fred Phelps and members of the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church will make stops in Virginia and the District this morning, picketing Fairfax High School, George Mason University and several embassies before reaching the White House around 11:30 a.m.

Volunteers with D.C. for Marriage met at the D.C. Center late last week to outline early strategies for engaging churches, universities and the black community in conversations about gay marriage in anticipation of a bill expected before the D.C. Council later this year.