Gray Attends World AIDS Day Vigil in Dupont Circle

Speaking at a World AIDS Day candlelight vigil in Dupont Circle on Thursday, Dec. 1, District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray stressed his administration remains committed to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Washington.

Gray pointed out to the roughly 75 people who gathered in the circle that 122,000 HIV tests took place in the District last year. The city also distributed 5 million female and male condoms.

The mayor said the number of new HIV cases in the District dropped by 50 percent last year--60 percent among intravenous drug users in 2010. The city's prevalence rate, however, remains roughly 300 percent higher than the national average with 3 percent of Washingtonians living with HIV.

"We have made enormous strides over the years in fighting this epidemic, but we have a long ways to go," said Gray.

Gray also presented Whitman-Walker Health Executive Director Don Blanchon with a proclamation that proclaimed Dec 1, 2011, World AIDS Day in the District.

Shots Fired Near the White House

Shots were fired between two cars that were speeding near the White House late on Friday, Nov. 11.

WJLA reported that two U.S. Park Police officers heard gunshots and saw two vehicles speeding down Constitution Avenue near the Ellipse and the Washington Monument around 9:30 p.m. One of the vehicles abandoned on Constitution Avenue and 23rd Street near the Roosevelt, while WJLA reported that witnesses said they saw the driver flee towards Virginia.

WJLA is further reporting that officers recovered an AK-47 assault rifle.

Constitution Avenue between 15th and 17th Streets was closed for several hours.

Vincent Gray and Amy Winehouse Yuck It Up at High Heel Race

It was quite a scene at the 25th annual High Heel Race in Dupont Circle on Tuesday, Oct. 25, when D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray yucked it up with the late Amy Winehouse.

Gray literally stopped in his tracks when he spotted the troubled British chanteuse—who was actually Queen Bambi—amid the throngs of people who had descended upon on 17th Street. Gray posed for pictures with Winehouse, who suddenly died in August from alcohol poisoning, as onlookers reveled in the spontaneous spectacle.

This chance encounter undoubtedly provided a welcome reprieve from the series of damaging revelations and headlines that continue to threaten to derail the Gray administration.

Gay Servicemembers Challenge DOMA in Federal Court

A group of gay and lesbian servicemembers filed a lawsuit challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act in federal court in Boston on Thursday, Oct. 27.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Chadbourne and Parke held a press conference with the six active duty servicemembers and two veterans at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs argue that DOMA forces the military to deny their spouses access to bases, burial rights at national cemeteries and other benefits that heterosexual servicemembers' spouses automatically receive.

"The case we are bringing today is about one thing, plain and simple: It’s about justice for gay and lesbian servicemembers and their families," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "These couples are in long-term, committed and legally recognized marriages and the military shouldn’t be forced to turn their back on them because the federal government refuses to recognize their families."

The repeal of the Pentagon's ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers became official on Sept. 20.

The Obama administration announced earlier this year that it would no longer defend DOMA in federal court, but House Republicans continue to back the Clinton-era law. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin debate on a DOMA repeal bill on Nov. 3.

Frank Kameny Passes Away

Longtime LGBT activist Frank Kameny passed away in his Washington, D.C., home late on Tuesday, Oct. 11. He was 86.

Metroweekly reported that Kameny, who founded the Mattachine Society of Washington in 1961 after he was fired from his job at the Army Map Service four years earlier, passed away in his sleep.

“Frank Kameny led an extraordinary life marked by heroic activism that set a path for the modern LGBT civil rights movement," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "From his early days fighting institutionalized discrimination in the federal workforce, Dr. Kameny taught us all that 'Gay is Good.' As we say goodbye to this trailblazer on National Coming Out Day, we remember the remarkable power we all have to change the world by living our lives like Frank--openly, honestly and authentically.”

Gay Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank mourned Kameny in a statement he released earlier on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

“The death of Frank Kameny is a very sad day for those who believe that all people in this country should be treated fairly. No one in our history had a longer record of commitment to and leadership of the fight for civil rights for all. When he was himself the victim of discrimination decades ago, unlike almost every other victim of the homophobia that then pervaded the country, Frank Kameny fought back. His courageous, creative assault on bigotry is one of the rocks on which the movement for LGBT rights is founded, and the successes we have had in recent times owe a great deal to him," he said. “All of us who are continuing the fight will remain indebted to him, inspired by him, and regretful that we will no longer have the benefit of his advice, his encouragement, and perhaps most importantly, his impatience.”

Video: DNC Chair Speaks at Fundraiser for LGBT Immigrants

Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke at an Immigration Equality fundraiser in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Wasserman Schultz, who chairs the Democratic National Committee, discussed the prospects of the Uniting American Families Act and the White House's LGBT-specific accomplishments since President Barack Obama took office. She also cited Anthony Makk and Bradford Wells, a bi-national gay couple from San Francisco who faces separation because Makk faces deportation back to his native Australia, in her speech.



Following her speech, Wasserman Schultz conceded that she is not confident that UAFA would become law before the end of this Congress. She also blasted Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain for asserting that homosexuality is a choice during his appearance on "The View" earlier in the day.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Is Officially Repealed

The repeal of the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers officially took effect at midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

I shot this video at Town in Washington, D.C., as revelers celebrated the end of "don't ask, don't tell" at the exact moment the repeal of the Clinton-era law took effect.

Earthquake Shakes Bushwick

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 shook large swaths of the East Coast shortly before 2 p.m.

The earthquake’s epicenter is near Charlottesville, Va., but I certainly felt the tremor here in Bushwick. I was actually on the phone with my boyfriend in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., when the pots and pans hanging above my stove suddenly began to sway. I initially thought that a gust of wind had caused them to move, but I realized it was an earthquake when the floor started shaking. I grabbed my keys, walked outside and watched several other people come out of buildings on Jefferson Street.

Aside from no cell phone service, everything appears to have returned to normal here in Bushwick. Social media networks remain uninterrupted. And the tremor managed to push Dominique Strauss-Kahn from the headlines.

Back to work...

Transgender Woman Found Murdered in East Harlem Apartment

Spending the summer on Fire Island can certainly insulate one from the outside world, but news of another transgender person's death provides an all too sobering reminder of the reality that LGBT people continue to confront.

Camila Guzman was found brutally murdered in her East Harlem apartment on Monday, Aug. 1, but news of the trans woman’s death comes less than two weeks after Lashai Mclean was shot to death on a Washington, D.C., street. Another trans woman was shot on July 31 a block away from where Mclean was gunned down.

Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar was found strangled to death in her Queens apartment in March 2010. Karlota Gómez Sanchez is among the 18 LGBT Puerto Ricans who have been killed over the last year and a half.

A report that the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Project issued last month found that 70 percent of known victims of anti-LGBT violence in 2010 were people of color. Forty-four percent of them were trans women.

"Camila Guzman's murder and the series of violent attacks against transgender women of color in Washington, D.C., highlight the disproportionate impact of severe anti-LGBT violence on transgender people of color," said Ejeris Dixon of the New York City Anti-Violence Project in a statement that her organization, the Audre Lorde Project, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released on Thursday, Aug. 4. "These murders are a wake-up call for all organizations that work to end hate violence. We must work collaboratively to create specific strategies to prevent violence against transgender people of color and to ensure that survivors receive the support they need."

As I have previously reported, there is no easy solution to reducing these disproportionate rates of violence. There is a collective responsibility, however, to ensure LGBT people can safely live their lives with dignity and respect.

Much to do about nothing?

Will the federal government shutdown?

President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner [R-Ohio] and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid [D-Nev.] could potentially reach an 11th hour agreement—they have 36 hours and 53 minutes to avoid what appears to the potentially inevitable government shutdown. What are the implications of the looming government shutdown? Would a shutdown actually prove a good thing? Would it solidify the Tea Party as a viable political movement? Would it impact average Americans in any way?

Postcards from the Tidal Basin

It may not feel like spring along the Northeast Corridor today, but the cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., are a definite sign of the season for which the region's winter-weary residents continue to yearn.

Here are some snapshots from earlier this afternoon.

Postcards from Dupont Circle

Dupont Circle was the place to gather on Saturday, Feb. 26, to protest Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to curtail state employees' benefits and collective bargaining rights, a bill that would eliminate Planned Parenthood's federal funding and the ongoing human rights abuses in the Middle East and North Africa.

There was also a handful or protesters outside the Iraqi embassy on P Street, NW.

Anti-Mubarak protesters demonstrate in front of White House

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in front of the White House on Saturday, Feb. 5, to urge Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign. Amnesty International was among the organizations that organized the protest.

Boy in Bushwick appears on Same Sex Sunday

Boy in Bushwick was among the guests who appeared on "Same Sex Sunday" on Sunday, Dec. 19, to discuss the LGBT-specific issues that garnered headlines in 2010.

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New York activists, politicians scoff at marriage threats

As activists and politicians prepare for a possible marriage vote in the New York State Senate by the end of the year, they continue to scoff at the primary challenge threats the National Organization for Marriage has made against any Republican Senator who supports the bill.

Attached is a link to the article I posted to EDGE earlier this morning that contains an interview with state Sen. Tom Duane [D-Manhattan] and others. Maine's successful marriage referendum has certainly energized and even emboldened NOM and other like-minded groups. The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington further disclosed yesterday it could not continue to fund the various social programs if the District's lawmakers do not change a proposed law that would allow marriage for gays and lesbians.

These are obviously only threats until they are actually put into practice, but these claims certainly prove anti-marriage groups continue to try to go on the offensive in the wake of Maine.

Stay tuned...