Washington Blade, Volume 56, Issue 36, September 05, 2025

(Photo via Bigstock/tanatat)

GOP bill would gut HIV funding U.S. AIDS conference kicks off in D.C. amid setbacks in fight, PAGE 08

S E P T E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • V O LU M E 5 6 • I S S U E 3 6 • W A S H I N GTO N B L A D E . C O M

READY TO LIVE AT NATIONAL HARBOR? The Potomac Overlook Monument Series Luxury Townhomes starting from the $700’s

VA LOANS WITH $0 DOWN AND ALL CLOSING COSTS PAID*

TOM GAFFNEY

SENIOR LOAN OFFICER NMLS ID #182206

703.307.5877 tgaffney@fhmtg.com www.GaffneyLoans.com

FIRST HERITAGE MORTGAGE, LLC 3201 JERMANTOWN ROAD, SUITE 800 FAIRFAX, VA 22030 First Heritage Mortgage, LLC | Company NMLS ID #86548 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) This is an advertisement and not a guarantee of lending. Terms and conditions apply.

All approvals subject to underwriting guidelines. Prepared: 09/05/2018. *Closing costs paid when using First Heritage Mortgage and does not include pre-paids.

Pricing and terms may change, please speak with Loan Officer.

0 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

CURRENT INCENTIVES **

Up to $70k in Closing Costs* *with use of preferred Lender and Title **not valid on previous contracts and must settle on or before 09/30/25.

8463

POTOMAC OVERLOOK MONUMENT SERIES FROM THE $700’S 500 TRIGGERFISH DRIVE, NATIONAL HARBOR, MD 20745 SALES@INTEGRITYHMW.COM | (703) 223-6286

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 0 3

Thank you to our sponsors and partners of the Washington Blade.

FULL LOGO (Preferred)

Text Only Stack

Style Guide v.1 | February 2018

Text Only Inline

Community Partners

ONLY A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE READING THIS WILL BE A MEMBER. SUPPORT LGBTQ MEDIA TODAY! WASHINGTONBLADE.COM/MEMBERSHIP 0 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

VOLUME 56 ISSUE 36 ADDRESS PO Box 60664 Washington DC 20039 PHONE 202-747-2077 E-MAIL news@washblade.com INTERNET washingtonblade.com PUBLISHED BY Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. PUBLISHER LYNNE J. BROWN lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075 EDITORIAL EDITOR KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com ext. 8088 SR. NEWS REPORTER LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079 WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT CHRIS KANE ckane@washblade.com extg 8083 INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR MICHAEL K. LAVERS mlavers@washblade.com ext. 8093 LOCAL NEWS REPORTER JOE REBERKENNY jreberkenny@washblade.com ext. 9463 POP CULTURE REPORTER JOHN PAUL KING PHOTO EDITOR MICHAEL KEY mkey@washblade.com ext 8084 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS DANIEL ITAI, ISAAC AMEND, TINASHE CHINGARANDE, PETER ROSENSTEIN, PATRICK FOLLIARD, TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER, JOE PHILLIPS, EVAN CAPLAN, ANKUSH KUMAR, ESTEBAN RIOSECO, SAM KISIKA, ELVIS KAWEDO, JAKE STEWART, HENRY CARNELL, DAWN ENNIS CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION MEAGHAN JUBA production@azercreative.com SALES & ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING STEPHEN RUTGERS srutgers@washblade.com ext. 8077 SR. ACCT. EXECUTIVE BRIAN PITTS bpitts@washblade.com ext. 8089 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION PHILLIP G. ROCKSTROH prockstroh@washblade.com ext. 8092 NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA 212-242-6863; sales@rivendellmedia.com For distribution, contact Lynne Brown at 202-747-2077, ext. 8075.

Distributed by Southwest Distribution Inc. All material in the Washington Blade is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Washington Blade. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although the Washington Blade is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Washington Blade, but the paper cannot take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. A single copy of the Washington Blade is available from authorized distribution points, to any individual within a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C. Multiple copies are available from the Washington Blade office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to get to a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 52-week mailed subscription for $195 per year or $5.00 per single issue.

Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Phil Rockstroh at prockstroh@ washblade.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Washington Blade, PO BOX 60664 Washington, DC 20039. The Washington Blade is published weekly, on Friday, by Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. Rates for businesses/institutions are $450 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. Editorial positions of the Washington Blade are expressed in editorials and in editors’ notes as determined by the paper’s editors. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Washington Blade or its staff. To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words; commentaries should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Send submissions by e-mail to knaff@ washblade.com.

©2025 BROWN NAFF PITTS OMNIMEDIA, INC.

228TH 8TH AN ANNUAL NNUAL

FFALL ALL BR BRUNCH RUNCH

BBUILDING UILDING A WORLD WHERE LGBTQ+ YYOUTH OUTH THRIVE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH H MARRIOTT MARQUIS WASHINGTON, DC

SMYAL.org/Brunch SMYAL.org/ /Brunch FEATURING SILENT AUCTION THREE COURSE BRUNCH INSPIRING SPEAKERS

HOSTED HO OSTED B BY Y

TARA HOO HOOT OT S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 0 5

WorldPride D.C. attendance, economic impact far lower than predicted Officials estimate 1.2 million turned out against expectations of 2-3 million

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Destination D.C., the nonprofit organization that promotes and tracks tourism and special events in the nation’s capital, announced on Aug. 26 that an estimated 1.2 million people attended WorldPride 2025 in D.C, which took place May 17-June 8.

The organization says a study it conducted also shows WorldPride 2025 had a positive economic impact on the city of $310.7 million.

Those numbers fall far short of predictions of 2-3 million visitors and nearly $800 million in economic impact.

Hotel occupancy rates were 5 percent lower than in 2024 for the same week.

The announcement of the WorldPride attendance and economic impact numbers were included in a statement reporting on the economic impact of tourism in the city in 2024, changes in visitation and tourism occurring in 2025, and Destination D.C.’s plans to promote tourism in 2026.

Some D.C. government officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, whose office provided D.C. agency support for WorldPride events, had predicted back in January that as many as three million visitors would turn out for WorldPride D.C. Some city officials had also predicted the WorldPride events would have as much as a $787 million economic impact on the city.

But not long after President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025 and began putting in place policies hostile to countries in Europe, Latin America, and Canada, including proposed tariffs, news began to surface that many potential visitors from foreign countries, including possible LGBTQ visitors, were choosing not to come to the United States.

Trump’s statements and policies in opposition to LGBTQ people, especially transgender people, also

played a role in alienating potential visitors to the U.S. for WorldPride, observers have said.

“Washington, D.C. shined during WorldPride, an incredible celebration that honored and advocated for the global LGBTQ+ community, with an estimated 1.2 million attendees across hundreds of events, resulting in $310.7 million in economic impact,” the Destination D.C. statement says.

“While the impact was significant, hotel occupancy throughout the duration of WorldPride was down about five percent year-over-year, according to STR,” the statement continues. STR is a tourism research firm.

“An economic impact study conducted in early 2024 predicted stronger figures based on travel trends from 2023, before the current political and economic climate,” it says.

“Despite those challenges, WorldPride had strong regional support and went far in extending the message that Washington, D.C. is a welcoming and inclusive destination for visitors of all backgrounds,” according to the statement. “There were attendees from all over the world.”

Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based group that played the lead role in organizing WorldPride D.C. 2025, had pointed out that the local D.C. government hosting WorldPride has a longtime strong record of support for the LGBTQ community.

The group argued that LGBTQ activists should turn out for WorldPride as a form of protest against the Trump administration, among other things, by joining the planned WorldPride LGBTQ and allied March on Washington for Freedom that took place June 8 and traveled from the Lincoln Memorial to the U.S. Capitol.

Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said

that while the 1.2 million attendance number released

by Destination D.C. is lower than what had initially been predicted, it is double the number of people who turn out for the city’s annual Capital Pride events.

June’s WorldPride attendance was far lower than city officials had initially predicted. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

“We’re thrilled about the number of folks that made it to Washington to experience WorldPride at a time when our community was under attack,” Bos told the Washington Blade. “And this report shows that this event, as our Capital Pride shows every year, is a strong economic engine for the District of Columbia,” he said.

“It was a challenging time,” Bos said. “But it was a historic WorldPride. We’re thrilled that we were able to bring the community together internationally, nationally, and locally.”

He said D.C. WorldPride included more than 300 events.

HIV/AIDS activists block traffic near White House

Upwards of 100 HIV/AIDS activists who protested near the White House on Tuesday demanded the TrumpVance administration fully fund PEPFAR. Housing Works, Health GAP, and the Treatment Action Group organized a rally in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Former U.S. Agency for International Development Assistant Administrator Atul Gawande, Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell, Global Black Gay Men Connect Executive Director Micheal Ighodaro, and Housing Works CEO Charles King spoke.

The protest took place less than two weeks after reports emerged that indicated the White House plans to not fully fund PEPFAR in the upcoming year.

The New York Times on Aug. 21 reported the Office of Management and Budget that Russell Vought directs “has apportioned” only $2.9 billion of $6 billion that Congress set aside for PEPFAR for fiscal year 2025. (PEPFAR in the coming fiscal year will use funds allocated in fiscal year 2024.)

Bipartisan opposition in the U.S. Senate prompted the Trump-Vance administration in July withdraw a proposal to cut $400 million from PEPFAR’s budget. Vought on Aug. 29 said he would use a “pocket rescission” to cancel $4.9 billion in foreign aid that Congress had already

approved.

The Trump-Vance administration earlier this year moved to dismantle USAID.

Protesters blocked traffic on Tuesday. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in March announced more than 80 percent of USAID contacts have been cancelled. HIV/AIDS service providers around the world with whom the Washington Blade has spoken say the loss of USAID funding and PEPFAR cuts have severely impacted their work.

0 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • LO CA L NE WS

“We got surgery with a chainsaw,” said Gawande as he spoke in front of the EEOB. “They did it in the way that maximized the loss of human life, waste, and destruction … and they did it with glee.”

Gawande noted a report that indicates USAID saved the lives of 25 million people with HIV/AIDS. He said Boston University researchers have concluded “we have already lost 450,000 lives because of the actions that we’re taken.”

“This represents people’s lives,” said Russell. “And Russ (Vought) thinks we’re going to turn over and go to sleep and let him engage in his criminal takeover and his seizure of power. No, we will not rest.”

The activists marched from the EEOB to the intersection of 17th and H Streets.

King and five others sat in the intersection for about 20 minutes. The Blade witnessed a driver get out of his car and confront a man who was standing on the sidewalk during the protest.

Authorities made no arrests.

The protest took place two days before the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS begins at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in D.C. The NMAC-organized gathering will end on Sept. 7.

PRICE GUARANTEE

A LOT WILL CHANGE IN 5 YEARS. YOUR INTERNET PRICE WON’T.

One consistent price for your internet

WiFi equipment and unlimited data included

No annual contracts

No strings attached

All-in means all-in

Flexibility guaranteed

xfinity.com/deals

1-800-xfinity

Visit a store today

Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. New residential customers only. Select plans only. Xfinity Gateway with xFi Complete required for unlimited internet data except in certain areas. Actual internet speeds vary and are not guaranteed.

For factors affecting speed, visit xfinity.com/networkmanagement. For complete details, visit xfinity.com/deals. All devices must be returned when service ends. © 2025 Comcast. All rights reserved.

NPA401227-0081

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 0 7

U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS opens in D.C. this week Magic Johnson to highlight theme of ‘Aging with HIV’

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The 29th annual United States Conference on HIV/ AIDS, considered the nation’s largest and most comprehensive gathering of experts involved in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, is scheduled to take place in D.C. Sept. 4-7 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

Among the keynote speakers at the conference will be “basketball legend, renowned entrepreneur, and advocate of people living with HIV Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson,” according to a statement released by NMAC, the D.C.based national HIV/AIDS organization and lead organizer of the conference.

“Mr. Johnson’s celebrity stature and his lived experience underscore the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS’s theme of ‘Aging with HIV,’” the statement says.

It adds, the conference will “center and celebrate the lives of people living with HIV as a testament to the biomedical progress in HIV antiretroviral treatment, highlight racial and health disparities that drive up HIV rates in communities of color, and defy stigma that deters people from accessing effective prevention and treatment options.”

The statement notes that the conference is being organized jointly by NMAC, formerly known as the National Minority AIDS Council, and Alchemy, a company that “builds and operates in-house pharmacies for safety net clinics” that serve people with HIV and Hepatitis C among other services.

Harold Phillips, NMAC’s Deputy Director of Programs, elaborates in the statement the importance of the issues to be raised at the conference.

“HIV may not be making headlines the way it once did, but it remains a pressing crisis – especially for communities of color and LGBTQ individuals who continue to face systemic barriers in health care,” he says in the statement.

“The lack of mainstream coverage can make it seem like the epidemic is behind us, but it is far different.”

PAUL KAWATA, NMAC’s longtime executive director, is retiring in October. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

He adds, “And now, with unprecedented funding cuts and the erosion of bipartisan support for the programs that have held our HIV infrastructure together, we find ourselves at a critical crossroads.” Phillips said he was

hopeful that with the support of important players like Alchemy and Magic Johnson, and the dozens of experts expected to participate in the conference, the HIV community will remain united and resilient, and it will be a “powerful reminder that this fight is far from over.”

Among others scheduled to speak at the conference are Dr. Anthony Fauci, former top official at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.).

In a separate statement, NMAC announced that the conference will mark the last major project for NMAC’s longtime executive director, Paul Kawata, who is retiring on Oct. 7.

“Paul Kawata has led NMAC – and the HIV movement – as a fearless advocate for communities of color since 1989, when he took the helm during the earliest, most devastating days of the AIDS crisis,” the statement says.

“Over 36 years, he shaped NMAC into one of the most influential voices in public health equity, pioneering programs and forging enduring coalitions across sectors,” it says.

“I took this role at a time when leading an HIV/AIDS organization was not a career builder. But it was necessary,” Kawata says in the statement. “The communities I care about were being erased,” he said.

“Since then, science has advanced, but the fight for equity remains as urgent as ever. There have been highs and lows, and I’ll carry all of it with me into the final U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS this September,” Kawata said.

For more information, visit nmac.org/uscha.

House GOP seeks to cut all U.S. HIV prevention programs in 2026 ‘A disastrous bill that will reignite HIV in the United States’

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives has released its Fiscal Year 2026 funding bill that calls for cutting funds for domestic HIV prevention, treatment, and care programs by at least $1.7 billion, which is an amount significantly greater than the AIDS budget cuts proposed by President Donald Trump.

Among other things, the bill, if passed by the full Congress, would eliminate federal funding for all HIV prevention programs in the U.S. as well as eliminate the Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative program that Trump persuaded Congress to pass during his first term as president.

“This is not a bill for making America healthy again, but a disastrous bill that will reignite HIV in the United States,” said Carl Schmidt, executive director of the D.C. based HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute, in a Sept. 1 statement.

“We urge Congress to reject these reckless cuts,” Schmidt says in the statement. “Eliminating all HIV prevention means the end of state and local testing and surveillance programs, educational programs, and linkage to lifesaving care and treatment, along with PrEP,” the statement continues. “It will translate into an increased number of new HIV infections, which will be costlier to

treat in the long run.”

It adds, “At a time when we have the tools to prevent HIV, including new long-acting forms of PrEP, we must not abandon the bipartisan progress our nation has made in combating HIV.” The proposed bill by the House Appropriations Committee, which has not yet taken a full committee vote on the bill, would also cut the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment Program by $525 million or 20 percent.

The bill would eliminate the entire $1 billion in prevention funding at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including $220 million allocated to President Trump’s Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative.

Schmidt points out that nearly 90 percent of this funding “flows to state and local health departments, including those in the South that do not have dedicated state funding and carry over half of HIV cases in the country.”

The House committee proposal supports the president’s budget proposal to eliminate $43 million in dedicated funding for hepatitis prevention at the CDC and instead proposes a $353 million block grant to states that would also include STD and tuberculosis prevention. This is $53 million more than the president proposed but still represents a combined cut of $24 million,

0 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • LO CA L NE WS

President TRUMP’s own Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative is on the GOP chopping block. (Photo via Bigstock)

Schmidt says in his statement.

“Instead of decreasing and diluting funding for hepatitis, if the country is serious about addressing chronic health conditions,” added Schmid, “we should be increasing funding so that people with hepatitis can be identified through testing and linked to treatment, and in the case of hepatitis C, a cure.”

The proposal by the House Appropriations Committees follows the U.S. Senate’s release earlier this year of a bipartisan FY 2026 budget bill that would maintain current funding for domestic HIV programs. If the House committee passes its proposed budget bill the budget provisions would have to be reconciled with the Senate version, and a reconciled version must then be passed by the full Congress.

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 0 9

Montgomery County’s first LGBTQ center opens in Bethesda ‘These are our values’

By MICHAEL KEY | mkey@washblade.com Montgomery County’s first LGBTQ center opened last weekend.

Makeda Richardson, chair of the board of directors of MoCo Pride Center, Inc., was joined by MoCo Pride Center, Inc. CEO Phillip Alexander Downie in welcoming members of the community to the brick-and-mortar LGBTQ resource center in downtown Bethesda.

“Today, Aug. 30, we are making history together,” said Richardson. “With this event and ribbon cutting, we officially open the doors to the Montgomery County Pride Family Resource Center — the first LGBTQIA+ resource center in our county’s history.”

The Montgomery County Pride Family Resource Center, also known as the MoCo Pride Center, is located on the second floor of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane) and is now open seven days a week.

The LGBTQ community center is funded through donations, grants and community support in partnership with the local government of Montgomery County.

“This center is the result of years of organizing, coalition-building, and community advocacy,” Downie explained to the Washington Blade. “It is proudly operated

by MoCo Pride Center, Inc., but it could not exist without the broader Montgomery County Pride Family.”

The Montgomery County Pride Family includes the Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities, Drag Story Hour DMV, Live In Your Truth, Maryland Trans Unity, MoCo Pride Prom, Poolesville Pride, and Trans Maryland.

“We are beginning with a strong foundation of peerled support groups, including youth groups, trans and gender-expansive groups, and intergenerational spaces,” Downie told the Blade. “We will also provide linkage-tocare services — like HIV/STI testing, health navigation, and affirming referrals — alongside cultural and educational programs, identity-affirming workshops, and monthly queer market pop-ups.”

A poster for upcoming events this week at the center includes listings for several support group meetings, sunset yoga, drag story hour, and a board game night.

Local government officials join The Pride Cenwith community members, MoCo ter’s programming Pride Center volunteers and staff includes free STI/ for the ribbon cutting of the LGBTQ community center in Bethesda, Md. HIV screenings, a (Blade photo by Michael Key) lending library, crisis management, housing placement and drop in hours.

“This is what the Pride Center represents: a future centered on community and care,” said Downie to the gathered crowd at the opening of the center. “This Pride center is a working, living home for our community. It is a place where anyone can walk in seven days a week and know they will be met with dignity, respect, and care.”

“Here, people will find affirming support groups, a library of LGBTQ+ books and history, a safe drop-in space and connections to vital services,” Downie continued. “It is a hub for connection and care, from youth gatherings to trans and gender community meetings, to family outreach, community education, and cultural celebrations that uplift our history and our joy. And it is a place to come as you are: whether to gather in joy to seek resources, or to simply be in community.”

Speakers at the opening event included several government officials as well as members of the Montgomery Pride Family umbrella organization of local LGBTQ groups.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, said, “I want to reaffirm that we’re going to have unwavering support for LGBTQ+ rights. Montgomery County has made it clear that

everyone deserves to be safe. And, I want to contrast this with the national climate. At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack, whether it is bans on gender-affirming care or rollbacks in mental health resources, we’re choosing another path.”

“From enacting the Bill of Rights, to raising the Pride flag each June, we’re not just making statements: we’re making change,” Elrich continued.

The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed the “LGBTQ Bill of Rights” in 2020, expanding the anti-discrimination codes of the county to include gender expression and HIV status. The LGBTQ Bill of Rights explicitly bans LGBTQ discrimination in healthcare facilities, nursing homes and personal care facilities, according to a statement from the Council.

“Growing up trans and queer in Montgomery County in the ’80s and ’90s was not easy,” said Trans Maryland Executive Director Lee Blinder. “There was no representation of my identity and my world as a child. And that made for a challenging experience. Like so many other folks have mentioned today, having a center like this would have profoundly impacted my ability to understand myself, to connect with community, and to really have the kind of support that we all truly deserve to have.”

Other speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart; Montgomery County Council Vice President Will Jawando; Montgomery County LGBTQ+ Community Liaison Amena Johnson; Montgomery County Council members Andrew Friedson and Evan Glass; Maryland state Del. Teresa Woorman; and Josie Caballero.

“And so just over Western Avenue, right down the road, we know there’s a lot of hate and there’s a lot of division — but not here in Montgomery County,” said Glass. “We are going to continue wrapping our arms around everybody, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, who we love.

These are our values.”

Comings & Goings

Travis Wright named professor at University of Wisconsin, Madison

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at comingsandgoings@ washblade.com.

Congratulations to Travis Wright, Ed.D, LPC, on his appointment as a full proTRAVIS WRIGHT fessor of Counseling Psychology and Education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. On his appointment, he said, “It’s been a long journey from East Tennessee to becoming a full professor, my 10 years in D.C. profoundly influencing my perspective and providing so much joy along

the way. It was in D.C. that I came to more fully appreciate the promise of public education to empower children, uplift communities, and transform the future. I also became acutely aware of the tendency to place politics, personalities, and self-interest above the needs of children.”

Wright is a nationally recognized expert on school-based support for children who have experienced trauma. Blending developmental, clinical, and educational perspectives, he studies how schools influence social-emotional and identity development for children navigating challenging circumstances, and how best to prepare teachers to meet the needs of those students. He is the author of “Emotionally Responsive Teaching: Expanding Trauma Informed Practices for Young Children.” His second book, “Reframing Resilience: Rethinking Care, Authority, and Connection in the Classroom,” is currently in the works.

He is the faculty director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service. He is the founder/director of the BASES Project, a school-based intervention for young children experiencing homelessness, their families, and teachers.

The BASES Project has provided more than 12,000 hours

1 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • LO CA L NE WS

of direct support to more than 500 homeless children in the past 10 years. During the 2015-16 academic year, while on leave from UW-Madison, Wright served as the Deputy Chief of Early Childhood Education for Washington, D.C. Public Schools, where he oversaw implementation of one of the nation’s largest Head Start programs. Previously, he worked as a school-based mental health counselor, public school teacher, and early childhood educator in D.C. and Boston.

Wright is licensed as a professional counselor in the state of Wisconsin and continues his clinical work with children and families who have experienced trauma. He has received numerous academic and service awards for his efforts, including the American Educational Research Association’s Early Career Award for Child Development and Early Childhood Education Research. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; his master’s of education with emphasis on human development and psychology from Harvard University; and a doctor of education with concentration in human development and psychology, also from Harvard.

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 1

DNC elects new chair of LGBTQ caucus

Sean Meloy, a longtime advocate for LGBTQ representation within the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and in Pennsylvania, has been elected chair of the DNC’s LGBTQ Caucus.

Meloy has advocated for LGBTQ rights at the local, state, and national levels — serving as the DNC’s director of LGBTQ Engagement, a member of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, a strategist with the Victory Fund to help elect more LGBTQ candidates, and a staffer for Congressman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania’s 18th District.

“I’m honored to serve as Chair of the DNC’s LGBTQ Caucus at such a critical moment for our community, Party, and country,” said Meloy. “LGBTQ Americans have made incredible progress, but we know our rights and freedoms are under attack from Donald Trump and Republicans every day. I look forward to working with DNC leadership, and our grassroots allies to organize, mobilize, and elect Democrats who will defend equality and fight to fix a broken system that serves those already with money and power.”

As caucus chair, Meloy will lead efforts to strengthen LGBTQ political power and advance equality — a role that comes with significant challenges from the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers. Chief among them are ongoing efforts to restrict — and in some cases eliminate — federal funding for gender-affirming surgeries, part of a broader push to roll back LGBTQ rights.

The LGBTQ Caucus represents queer DNC members from across the country. Joining Meloy in leadership are Martha McDevitt-Pugh (She/Her – Dems Abroad) as Vice Chair for Operations, Matt Hughes (He/Him – NC) as Vice Chair for Civic Engagement, and Katherine Jeanes (They/Them – NC) and Manny Crespin as Corresponding and Recording Secretaries.

“Sean has spent his career building political power for LGBTQ people and ensuring our voices are heard at every level of government,” said outgoing DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes (He/Him – DC). “We are thrilled to have him lead the caucus at this pivotal time.”

The DNC also elected several other LGBTQ leaders to key roles, joining Vice Chair

Signs from the 2024 Democratic National Convention. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Malcolm Kenyatta and Secretary Jason Rae on the party’s leadership team. Luis Heredia of Arizona was elected chair of the DNC Latino Caucus, while Andre Trieber was chosen to lead the Youth Council.

JOE REBERKENNY

DHS to deport trans Brazilian woman arrested in Md.

The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said it plans to deport a transgender Brazilian woman who U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested in Silver Spring.

A video posted to Instagram shows three plain-clothed ICE agents removing Alice Correia Barbosa from her car on Aug. 23. One agent misgendered Correia before he and the two other agents placed her into an unmarked SUV. A senior DHS official in response to the Washington Blade’s request for comment about Correia’s arrest referred to her by her birth name and described her as an “illegal

Three plain-clothed ICE officers arrested ALICE CORREIA BARBOSA, a transgender woman from Brazil, on Aug. 23, 2025, while she was driving her car in Silver Spring, Md. (Instagram screenshot)

alien from Brazil” who “overstayed his visa by almost six years.” The official also used male pronouns to describe Correia.

“He remained in the U.S. after his B-2 tourist visa that allowed him to remain in the U.S. for six months. Nearly six years later, he is still illegally in our country,” the official told the Blade. “Barbosa’s criminal history includes arrests possession of a controlled substance and marijuana possession. U.S. Border Patrol arrested Barbosa on Aug. 23, 2025, and he will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused to allow aliens a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S.” The Blade asked the official why they used Correia’s birth name to identify her and male pronouns to describe her.

“Because he is a man,” said the official.

Erika Hilton, a Brazilian congresswoman who is a Black travesti, on Aug. 24 said she asked the country’s Foreign Ministry to “intercede to guarantee the rights and physical integrity of Alice Correia Barbosa, a Brazilian trans woman who was arbitrarily, suspiciously, and violently arrested in the U.S.” Hilton in her X post said Correia’s arrest is unconstitutional. Hilton further criticized the Trump-Vance administration’s overall immigration policy.

“Obviously, I don’t believe it’s fruitful to explain to the U.S. the illegalities committed by a Dorito-colored dictator’s little project,” said Hilton.

The Brazilian Foreign Affairs on Wednesday told the Blade the country’s Consulate General in D.C. “is monitoring the case, in contact with local authorities, and providing consular assistance to the Brazilian national.” Them reported Correia is in ICE custody at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia.

Brazil has the highest number of reported murders of trans people in the world. The State Department’s 2024 human rights report that “erased” LGBTQ people does not mention this fact.

President Donald Trump in his inaugural speech announced the federal government’s “official policy” is “there are only two genders, male and female.” Hilton and Duda Salabert, another Brazilian congresswoman who is also trans, earlier this year said the U.S. listed their gender on their American visas as “male.”

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

1 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • NAT I O NA L NE WS

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 3

1 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

LEFT PAGE

IN THEIR MEMORY, WE CARRY ON THE FIGHT.

Amy, Burli & Ingrid Hopkins

Garrett King with His Son Roman

Dear Friends,

I come to you once again this year for a cause that is personal. You may remember, in 2020 we lost Garrett King, our star agent, the son I never had, and my daughter Billie’s best friend to an accidental overdose. Just one month later, my friends Ingrid and Amy Hopkins lost their brother Burli in the same heartbreaking way. Our families and our community were forever changed. These losses are not statistics - they are sons, brothers, fathers, teammates, and friends who should all be here today.

That is why Amy and I are standing together this year with Beebe Goes Purple. We are committed to turning our tragedy into action by raising awareness, reducing stigma, and supporting lifesaving programs like Beebe Goes Purple right here in Sussex County.

Some Positive News - A Decline in Overdose Deaths In 2024, 338 overdose deaths were reported statewide - a 36% decrease from the year before, and the lowest total since 2017. This progress is proof that community-led initiatives like Beebe Goes Purple are working. Through education, prevention, naloxone access, and treatment support, we are breaking the cycle of addiction and saving lives across Sussex County and beyond.

But the fight is far from over. We still lost 338 loving souls in 2024, and Delaware maintains one of the highest overdose rates in the nation. Every number represents a family member, a friend, or a loved one.

Your support ensures we don’t lose this momentum and can help save more lives this year. Together, we can continue to provide resources, raise awareness, and fight for a future free from addiction.

We can’t stop now. We must do more.

As such, we are asking you once again to join us to support the Beebe Goes Purple Fund to help fight the opioid crisis in Sussex County on Thursday, September 18th at the Starboard in Dewey Beach. Amy and I will be stepping in as guest bartenders from 8:40-8:55 pm.

Please consider making a donation prior to the event or if you can, do both!

e t a on

D

! w o N

LEE ANN WILKINSON

YOUR GIFT HONORS GARRETT AND BURLI BY HELPING US SAVE OTHERS.

RIGHT PAGE

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 5

PETER ROSENSTEIN

is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Trump, Russell Vought, RFK Jr. will be responsible for int’l AIDS deaths Destruction of the United States healthcare infrastructure continues

The felon in the White House, Office of Management and Budget Director, Russell Vought, and Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will all go down in history as responsible for millions of AIDS-related deaths around the world. One can only hope one day the justice system will catch up to them and dole out the punishment they all deserve.

As the Washington Blade reported, “The New York Times on Aug. 21 reported the Office of Management and Budget that Russell Vought directs ‘has apportioned’ only $2.9 billion of $6 billion that Congress set aside for PEPFAR for fiscal year 2025.

(PEPFAR in the coming fiscal year will use funds allocated in fiscal year 2024.) “They are withholding FY25 funds appropriated

by Congress, so that FY26 means PEPFAR shrinks away to nothing,” Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell noted to the Washington Blade.”

“The New York Times says it has obtained planning documents detailing major changes for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The program would morph from one that provides medicines to prevent the global spread of HIV to one that focuses on the detection of outbreaks such as Ebola and the creation of new markets for American drugs, the documents say.”

We know Kennedy has cut grants focused on HIV/AIDS. It was reported in March, “The NIH has eliminated funding for dozens of HIV-related research grants, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services database that was updated last week, halting studies and threatening patient care across the country. Several researchers said the cuts put a stop to hopes of ending HIV in the U.S. and around the world. “The termination of numerous federal grants for HIV prevention and treatment is a cause for alarm,” Dr. Perry Halkitis, dean, and Hunterdon Professor of Public Health & Health Equity at Rutgers University, wrote in an email to CNN. The NIH canceled funds for a Rutgers project examining stigma and aging among HIV-positive and -negative men who have sex with men.”

The cruelty and callousness of these actions is incomprehensible to all decent people anywhere. But then they are only part of the destruction of the United States health infrastructure. The best research organizations in the world are being systematically torn apart, putting Americans and people around the world at risk. PEPFAR is only one program, but it saved millions around the world from dying of AIDS. It was a program put in place by a Republican president, George W. Bush. Where is his voice calling on the Republican Party, if any are left who don’t have their lips attached to the felon’s ass, to fight all these actions by the felon and his cohorts?

We know RFK Jr. lied to the chair of the Senate HELP committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), during his confirmation hearings, when he promised not to destroy the vaccine advisory committee at the CDC. Then he acted and “removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks. Major physicians and public

1 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • V I E WP O I NT

health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.” This will lead to more deaths on his watch.

He has now gone on to announce, “the U.S. will pull $500 million in mRNA vaccine development funding, citing false claims about efficacy and safety.” It was the quick development of mRNA vaccines that saved millions of people around the world during the COVID pandemic, and it is these types of vaccines that could save millions more in the world in the next pandemic — and there will be one. It is Vought, as OMB director, who is recommending the budgets that are including these cuts. He is the author of Project 2025.

The travesties continue with the FDA approving the new COVID vaccine only for those 65 and older or having an underlying condition that increases the risk of severe disease. We don’t know if insurance will pay for any others to get it. Then a spokesperson for CVS said in a statement that “based on the current regulatory environment,” the pharmacy chain will not offer COVID-19 vaccinations as normal in the following states and territories: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Customers can, however, still access the updated COVID-19 vaccines in most of these regions if they present an “authorized prescriber’s prescription.” Now I can blame CVS, but this starts with the scum in the HHS Secretary’s office.

To add to the healthcare chaos RFK Jr. is creating it was reported, “U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez has been fired, the White House said on Wednesday, less than a month after being sworn in, and four senior officials have resigned amid growing tensions over vaccine policies and public health directives.” Each day brings some new insanity from Kennedy. After the shooting of those kids in Minneapolis he said his agency would study whether antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs “might be contributing to violence,” prompting Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, to say, “I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don’t kill kids, antidepressants do.

Just shut up. Stop peddling bulls---. You should be fired.” Actually a 2019 study found most school shooters don’t appear to have been prescribed psychotropic drugs and “when they were, no direct or causal association was found.”

With all this going on there is only one way to proceed, and I recognize it is only a beginning, to start the work that lies ahead to stop the carnage the felon and his sycophants are inflicting on the United States, and the world. That is to VOTE! To vote for every Democrat, in every election in 2025 and 2026, and ensure every Republican, at all levels of government, is defeated. There is no third party today that can win. If you stay home, and don’t vote, you are in essence giving up, and actually casting a vote for Trump. If we stick together, and every thinking person in the country comes out and votes, we will win.

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 7

EMMA CIESLIK is a D.C.-based writer.

Pulse Memorial crosswalk will continue to be colorful Our visibility and fight for survival is at our nation’s doorstep

The rainbow crosswalk just outside of the Pulse nightclub in Orlando was painted over by the state of Florida last month. The memorial honored the 49 people who were fatally shot at the Pulse nightclub in 2016. The shooting occurred on the club’s “Latin Night,” targeting a space created by and for the Latinx LGBTQ+ community. As Attorney General Loretta Lynch and President Obama acknowledged at the time the spree shooting was motivated by a number of factors, and was both an act of terrorism and a hate crime against Latinx LGBTQ+ communities.

The shooting shook many LGBTQ+ communities who heightened security at their safe spaces, and like the murder of George Floyd, elicited a strong reaction among LGBTQ+ individuals and allies who came together to remember the lives who were lost. The memorial was originally approved by Republican Governor Rick Scott and installed in 2017 and stood with city and county approval for eight years until on Wednesday night, it was quietly removed under the argument that it violated updated state design guidelines. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer criticized DeSantis’s move to erase the memorial in a post on X: “This callous action of hastily removing part of a memorial to what was at the time our nation’s largest mass shooting, without any supporting safety or discussion, is a cruel political act.”

It’s a devastating new step in removing public LGBTQ+ art, and without any warning, and it mirrors a recent directive by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Trump to paint over any crosswalks and sidewalks with “social, political, or ideological messages.” The Trump administration has called for the removal of “asphalt art,” including rainbow crosswalks, arguing that this step is a safety measure.

DeSantis shared on social media that “we will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes, following the Florida Department of Transportation issuing a memo this past Pride banning crosswalk or pavement art “associated with social, political, or ideological messages or images.” On July 1st, Trump-appointed US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted on X that “taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks.”

When questioned by CNN, the department said that “local governments not in compliance for local roads began receiving notifications to bring their roadways up to state standards to ensure locals govern themselves accordingly,” but community organizers argued that the removal was a surprise. Florida cities have been ordered by the Department to remove rainbow crosswalks by September, with Boynton Beach removing their crosswalk this last month. The Department sent a letter to the City of Miami Beach that all rainbow crosswalks on Ocean Drive and 12th Street also be removed by September 4th.

Rainbow crosswalks have been targeted around the world, called hate crimes in London and Australia last year.

In Orlando, the sidewalk was painted over--to its standard black and white stripe--only two months after the nine-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, but in the hours since the memorial was erased, volunteers showed up with colorful chalk and colored it back in. Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith assisted with coloring in the crosswalk. He told Newsweek that “while this attack was meant to demoralize us and push us back in the closet, Orlando refused to be erased. It was inspiring to see so many local residents spring into action in response to the Governor’s cowardly abuse of power.”

As GLAAD shared the restoration on their Instagram account, a representative from the organization told Newsweek that “Orlando community members continue to show up for each other, in grief, outrage, and love. LGBTQ people and our history will never be erased, and the lives taken at Pulse will never be forgotten.” A permanent Pulse Memorial is scheduled for construction in June 2027.

The erasure was revealed just hours before the Trump administration released a list of programming at the Smithsonian under the title “President Trump Is Right About the Smithsonian.” Included in this list was a direct link to exhibitions and blog posts about LGBTQ+ history and collections at the institution, and over the past year, the National Park Service website removed references to transgender people from the Stonewall National Memorial website in February. Queer and trans history — and as this act of erasing rainbows, erasing memorials of violence against our community attest — is under attack, but our communities are showing

1 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • V I E WP O I NT

up and standing in solidarity with each other, across time and space.

As the volunteers who showed up to color in the crosswalk just hours after its removal showed, our memorial will not be destroyed and our people will not be erased. Just like the George Floyd mural at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis was vandalized multiple times, it was not destroyed.

No amount of paint or pressure will bleach the rainbows out of our cities, or erase the LGBTQ+ communities that give them life.

In D.C., where LGBTQ+ individuals represent over 14% of the adult population, queer and trans representation is built into the history and fabric of this city.

One of the first drag queens hosted private drag balls in Washington, DC. William Dorsey Swann, a formerly enslaved man, began hosting these parties in Washington, DC. wherein he and others “dressed in elegant female attire,” according to the 1887 Washington Critic.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered the removal of a rainbow crosswalk near the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. (Screen capture via WFTV Channel 9/YouTube)

Carl Rizzi, a former U.S. Navy man and Postal Service worker, founded and nurtured a drag family at Beekman Place. Rizzi, also known as Mame Dennis, was a key member of The Academy (a group later known as The Academy Awards of Washington). This group, founded by Alan Kress--better known as Elizabeth Taylor--in 1961 is one of the longest running LGBTQ+ groups in Washington, DC that still hosts competitions based on performance.

Just this past May, June, and July, the Rainbow History Project hosted Pickets, Protests, and Parades: The History of Gay Pride in Washington, an exhibition focused on the history of Pride and protests in the nation’s capital with a special focus on LGBTQ+ communities of color who flourished in the city prior to intense gentrification in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. LGBTQ+ communities remain strong and vital parts of Washington, DC to this day, and I know many people are fiercely protective of Rainbow Road, the longest LGBTQ+ mural that stretches between O and V streets.

Even as our histories are erased, as our memorials painted over and erased, we will not give in. We cannot give in, and we cannot forget that this is just paint.

It’s a devastating message and loss to the community, but here in DC and across the country, unhoused, immigrant, and BIPOC individuals are being disappeared by the police. Our visibility and fight for survival is at our nation’s doorstep, as LGBTQ+ immigrants, unhoused individuals, and people of color are deeply continuing to face state-sanctioned violence.

WE DELIVER

DC’s newest licensed dispensary

1115 U St Nw Washington, DC 20009

dc.cookies.co 202-292-5071

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 1 9

ISAAC AMEND

is a writer based in the D.C. area. He is a trans man and was featured in National Geographic’s “Gender Revolution” documentary. He serves on the board of the LGBT Democrats of Virginia.

Contact him at isaacamendwrites@gmail.com or on Instagram at @literatipapi

Joseph Gawler’s Sons requests the pleaure of your company at an

Open House Celebration

SAT, OCT 25, 2025

REMARKS AT 4 RECEPTION FROM 5 TO 8 PM JOSEPH GAWLER’S SONS LLC

FUNERAL HOME CREMATIONS

JosephGawlers.com 202-966-6400

DIGNITY MEMORIAL* Premier Collection

5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC

Joseph Gawler’s Sons e pleasure of your company at an

2 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • V I E WP O I NT

America’s war on trans lives What’s happening isn’t marginal or symbolic

For years, the debate over trans rights has been dismissed as just another front in America’s so-called “culture wars.” And many people on both sides of the aisle either openly or secretly think that trans people are second-class citizens. But what’s happening in 2025 isn’t marginal or symbolic. It’s an all-out war on our lives–a war that is forcing trans people in red states to move up north or to coastal cities, and a war that is even forcing some of us to move overseas.

Already this year, more than 850 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced nationwide—making 2025 the most hostile legislative year in U.S. history. More than 120 have become law, and their targets are painfully clear: trans youth, trans parents, and trans adults who dare to live openly.

In Kansas, the “Help Not Harm Act” bans gender-affirming care for minors and threatens lawsuits against providers. Iowa has gone further, stripping civil-rights protections for transgender people, banning gender marker changes, and erasing trans recognition altogether. Texas passed one of the harshest bathroom bans in the nation, imposing $25,000 fines on institutions that let trans people use restrooms matching their identity. Such a law is similar to laws in the 1950s and 1960s that banned African Americans from using the bathroom or water fountain or visiting the restaurant of their choice. And just this week, South Carolina asked the Supreme Court to reinstate its ban on trans students using restrooms aligned with their gender.

The federal government has escalated this assault. Within days of returning to office, President Trump signed a suite of executive orders aimed squarely at erasing trans lives. One order redefined gender as fixed at birth, voiding federal recognition of trans people across passports, prisons, and workplaces. Another banned gender-affirming care for minors nationwide, using inflammatory rhetoric about “mutilation” to stigmatize treatment recognized by every major medical association as essential. A third re-imposed the military ban on trans service members, forcing thousands of patriotic Americans out of uniform.

As if that weren’t enough, the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi issued subpoenas to more than 20 hospitals, demanding records, texts, and billing information for trans youth. Families are being hunted. Providers are being silenced. These moves by government officials constitute fascism and autocracy.

The human toll is devastating. A 15-year-old boy recently fled Texas to Minnesota just to preserve his medical care. Hate crimes against trans people rose nearly 80 percent in just two years, according to Human Rights Watch. Suicidality among trans youth spikes in states with bans, and the Supreme Court’s decision this summer to uphold Tennessee’s care ban has deepened despair across the country.

What must happen now is clear. Ironically, the fight for trans rights can best be won on a state-by-state basis and “states rights” is something that traditional conservatives tout at every turn. States must repeal their most dangerous bans and protect access to healthcare, education, and housing. Additionally, sanctuary cities must be established along both coasts and in middle America to make us (and migrants) safe. Courts must reverse their devastating endorsement of Tennessee’s ban. And every major institution—schools, hospitals, businesses— must stop hiding behind neutrality and affirm, openly and unequivocally, that trans people belong.

Corporate America, too, must end the charade. Pride sponsorships and rainbow logos mean nothing if the same companies funnel millions into the campaigns of anti-trans politicians.

History will remember what we do in this moment. In 2025, America did not simply “debate” trans rights. It tried to legislate us out of existence. Whether that attempt succeeds will depend not only on trans people ourselves, but on whether the broader queer community—and our allies—rise to meet this moment.

HAROLD PHILLIPS

is incoming CEO of National Minority AIDS Council.

Claiming space, leading boldly: A new chapter in HIV fight

Health Insurance for Small Business

A time of extraordinary possibility and profound peril

I step into the leadership of the National Minority AIDS Council at a time of both extraordinary possibility and profound peril. We are living in a moment where science has given us the tools to end HIV as a public health threat—PrEP, PEP, U=U, long-acting injectables, and decades of research that have transformed what was once a death sentence into a manageable condition. And yet, the systems meant to deliver these tools are under siege.

Public health is being politicized. Science is being undermined. Civil and human rights are being rolled back. The safety and security of LGBTQ+ people—especially Black and Brown queer and trans folks—are increasingly fragile. In some states, even saying the word “gay” in a classroom is considered controversial. In others, access to gender-affirming care is being stripped away. And all the while, HIV continues to disproportionately impact communities that have been historically marginalized and medically neglected.

So yes, I step into this role with a sense of urgency. But I also step in with pride.

Because I know what it means to be underestimated. I know what it means to be told you don’t belong. As a Black, church-going, gay boy from the South Side of Chicago, I grew up in a world that didn’t always see me, didn’t always protect me, and certainly didn’t expect me to lead a national movement. But here I am. And I’m not alone.

I carry with me the legacy of those who came before—of Marsha P. Johnson and Bayard Rustin, of Magic Johnson and Ryan White, of the activists who lay down in the streets and shouted “Silence = Death” until the world finally listened. I carry the wisdom of Black grandmothers who raised generations through grief and grit.

I carry the fire of young people who refuse to be silent, who organize, who vote, who demand better.

At NMAC, we are not just fighting a virus, we are fighting the systems that allow it to thrive. We are fighting racism in healthcare, transphobia in policy, and stigma in every corner of society. We are fighting for Black and Brown communities, for LGBTQ+ youth, for aging people living with HIV who deserve dignity, not invisibility.

This is not just a job, it’s a calling. And it’s a call to action for all of us.

We must raise our voices louder than the attacks. We must claim space in rooms that were never built for us. We must demand funding that reflects the urgency of our communities’ needs. We must protect the programs that work—like Ryan White, HOPWA, and PEPFAR—and expand access to innovations like long-acting PrEP. We must also tell the truth: that ending the HIV epidemic is not just a scientific challenge, it’s a justice challenge. It requires confronting poverty, housing insecurity, criminalization, and the erosion of civil rights. It requires centering people who live at the intersection of multiple oppressions. It requires love, radical empathy, and unapologetic leadership.

I am ready to lead. But I cannot do it alone.

To every activist, provider, policymaker, and person living with HIV: this is your movement too. Your voice matters. Your story matters. Your survival is revolutionary.

Let’s build a future where HIV is no longer a threat—not because we ignored it, but because we faced it head-on. Let’s build a future where public health is protected, science is respected, and every person—regardless of race, gender, or sexuality—can live with dignity and thrive.

Let’s build it together.

CFO SERVICES GROUP Enrolled Since 2017

BIG BENEFITS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Keep your business healthy with DC Health Link MULTIPLE PLAN CHOICES

Saves money and provides affordable health insurance options. Plans to meet every need and budget

ESSENTIAL PLANS

Offers FREE type 2 diabetes care and free insulin, FREE heart disease and stroke care, plus $5 copay for children’s mental health services

AUTOPAY: THE CONVENIENT WAY

Ensures on-time payments with one monthly bill for both medical and dental coverage.

DCHealthLink.com (855) 532-5465 / TTY: 711

V I E WP O I NT • S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 2 1

Queer Visitors:

How drag and Oz inspired new LGBTQ book club

Nana Tuckit is the first Drag Queen to partner with Drag Queen Story Hour’s adult LGBTQ book club.

(Photo courtesy of Drag Queen Story Hour)

Exploring themes of self acceptance and found family

By JOE REBERKENNY | jreberkenny@washblade.com

When looking at media, few works of literature have achieved the critical success and enduring resonance with the LGBTQ community that “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” has.

From its messages of radical acceptance, home, and belonging, to its subversions of gender norms and its memorable, fluidly gendered characters, “The Wizard of Oz” has remained a queer cultural touchstone more than 125 years after its first publication.

The book itself offered many LGBTQ readers one of their first glimpses of a world that celebrated differences that might otherwise be considered “queer.” The 1939 MGM film adaptation, starring gay icon Judy Garland, further cemented Dorothy—and Oz—into LGBTQ culture, contributing (somewhat debatedly) to the origin of the term “Friend of Dorothy” as a euphemism for LGBTQ individuals and helping to establish rainbows as a queer symbol.

The story also inspired the wildly popular musical “Wicked,” which reimagines the witches of Oz and is rich with LGBTQ subtext.

Given all this, it makes perfect sense that an adult LGBTQ book club would choose to start its journey in the fantastical world L. Frank Baum created with Oz. Queer Visitors, a book club made for LGBTQIA+ adults and named after a comic strip L. Frank Baum published in 1904 called “Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of 2 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

Oz,” created by Drag Story Hour—a national non-profit whose goals include “celebrating storytelling through the dynamic art of drag performance”—chose to kick off this new venture with “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” The Washington Blade had the chance to speak with Jonathan Hamilt, co-founder of Drag Queen Story Hour, about what the LGBTQ adult book club will entail, why now, and why Oz. When asked what spurred the choice to start an adult LGBTQ book club, Hamilt explained that the club has been a long time in the making. “‘Drag Story Hour’ is celebrating 10 years of stories this year. We’ve always served families and children reading public books… but we really wanted to expand our programming for an adult-focused book club that was basically a drag story hour for adults only,” Hamilt said.

For years, the organization has worked to inspire children and promote diversity across the U.S.—and the globe. Now, they are venturing over the rainbow into adult territory.

“It’s like Oprah’s book club, but gay, where we will have a monthly book club… with a virtual experience with the drag artist and a subject matter expert of the book.”

For their first month, Queer Visitors went with drag queen (and face of Queer Visi-

tors) Nana Tuckit from Portland, Ore., and Tori Calamito—a self-described “Oz historian” and LGBTQ ally known as “The Oz Vlog” on social media—to stand alongside the club online.

“Nana Tuckit brings a really fun energy to the space… and Tori is an Oz historian and can tell us all the things about that world,” Hamilt said when explaining their choice to go with Tuckit and Calamito. “I think the two of them will be a really amazing powerhouse chatting about this book.”

Calamito and Tuckit both sat down with the Blade to discuss why they chose to partner with Drag Queen Story Hour and Queer Visitors—both going into detail about why “The Wizard of Oz” is a perfect pick for the first meeting of the book club, explaining that LGBTQ people can see themselves in the story. “‘The Wizard of Oz’ at its core, is a story about self-actualization and achieving self-actualization alongside your found family,” Tori Calamito told the Blade. “And I think those are themes that the LGBTQIA+ community can really relate to.”

She sees “The Wizard of Oz” as a story that resonates universally: “I think it’s a story everyone knows. So no matter where you’re coming from, in society, where you live in the country, where you hail from, everybody can hear Oz and go, ‘Aha, there’s some sort of association in your memory.’”

“Queer people are just naturally drawn to those stories where the interesting oddball characters are accepted and welcomed and present and they’re celebrated,” Nana Tuckit said. “I feel like it’s important right now to tell people’s stories to understand perspectives that are different… there is such a huge range of lives people are living.” “’The Wizard of Oz’ is such an interesting cultural capstone… all generations know ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in some capacity… there are so many original books and I think they’re so innately queer if you read between the lines,” Hamilt said. “One way to look at it: it’s just so campy and so colorful and so fun… and this idea of queer diaspora…

Dorothy being displaced or in a new land, kind of finding her chosen family… it’s kind of like an allegory for the whole queer experience.”

Calamito echoed Hamilt’s points and said her LGBTQ followers—more than 375,000 combined on Instagram and TikTok—helped show her that.

“You know, when I first read the L. Frank Baum original series of Oz books, I didn’t pick up on the very queer, coded themes and the gender fluid themes because reading it through the lens of a straight cis woman—just those things didn’t hit me,” she said. “But interacting with other folks in the broader [Oz] fandom opened my eyes to how obvious those themes are.”

“When we hear stories about those kinds of people [queer], and they aren’t the villains of the story—they aren’t the people who are being scrutinized and condemned or picked apart for those aspects of themselves—I think that’s what gets people so excited,” Tuckit told the Blade. “We need to create some worlds that are super fun for queer people to experience, because we need to know that we can be the main character, the hero, the savior. We can be all of the good things, the magical things.”

Hamilt also noted that the childlike wonder the Oz books and story have been able to provide to people for over a century reflects the need to heal their internal child selves.

“Queer adults have to do a lot of inner child healing… getting back to the magic of books where the excitement maybe first happened for you… it brings a lot of joy at face value with this book club that makes you feel like a kid at heart,” Hamilt said.

Tuckit went on to emphasize how the feeling of community—which has been life-saving for LGBTQ people when families have, and continue to, shun them for coming out— is present throughout the book.

“Even at the end of the book, The Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman all become the king of their own… the people have chosen you to be this figure for them, because they know you’re going to be supportive of them and looking out for them,” Tuckit said.

That community, she explained, can help the reader find what Dorothy was searching for when her house landed in Oz. “If I think about what feels like home for me, it’s definitely not necessarily the physical place, but it is about who I’m with and the people that I’ve created my community with.”

Hamilt also saw the opportunity for book club members to create real-world connections using the club as a goal.

“It’s really easy as an adult to get sucked into your phone or social media… my hope is that this book club gets a physical book in your hands… gets you to meet other people that are excited about a really dorky topic… bring back this idea of real community.”

The act of drag has long been a community- and family-maker in the LGBTQ world.

From ballroom families to the unique feeling of love one can get when watching a truly moving piece of drag, the art form has community woven into its history that adds an additional layer to the complexities of LGBTQ relationships.

“Drag is starting to represent just more of a wide range of people and experiences, just reflecting what we are as people… it’s all the same,” Tuckit said. “Drag artists are just expressing that something inside them that they want to get out and show the rest of the world.”

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 2 3

CALENDAR |

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Friday, September 05 “Center Aging Friday Tea Time” will be at 2 p.m. in person at the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s new location at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W. To RSVP, visit the DC Center’s website or email adam@thedccenter.org.

GoGayDC will host “First Friday LGBTQ+ Community Social” at 7 p.m. at Silver Diner Ballston. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Movement for Choice will host “Queer Joy Is Resistance: A M4C x Capital Sapphics Party” at 6:30 p.m. at Kiki. This will be a night of community, care, and unapologetic joy.

Proceeds support SMYAL, Movement for Choice, and Capital Sapphics — three local organizations building queer community, supporting LGBTQ+ youth, and defending reproductive justice in D.C. For more information, visit Eventbrite.

Saturday, September 06 GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 12 p.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

LGBTQ People of Color Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgment free. There are all sorts of activities like watching movies, poetry events, storytelling, and just hanging out with others. For more information, visit thedccenter.org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc.

Sunday, September 07 S&T Productions will host “Community: A Showcase of Talents in the DMV” at 6 p.m. at Chateau Inc. This will be a night of fun, music, drag, lip syncing, and community vibes.

The event is all about bringing people together to celebrate a shared love for music and good times. Whether you’re a long-time fan or new to the scene, everyone is welcome to join in on the festivities. Get ready to dance, mingle, and make memories with fellow music lovers. Tickets cost $24.57 and are available on Eventbrite.

Monday, September 08 “Center Aging Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice.

For more details, email adam@thedccenter.org.

Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom and in-person at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100% cis. For more information, visit www.genderqueerdc.org or check out Facebook.

Tuesday, September 09 Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a peer-facilitated discussion group. It is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so. By sharing struggles and victories the group allows those newly coming out and who have been out for a while to learn from others. All are welcome to join in discussion whether Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, or Ally. For more information, visit the Coming Out Discussion Group Facebook page.

Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email info@thedccenter.org.

Out in Tech DC will host “End of Summer Social” at 6:30 p.m. at Spark Social House.

2 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

Out in Tech DC will host ‘End of Summer Social’ Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Spark Social House.

(Washington Blade photo by Joe Reberkenny)

This will be an evening of community, connection, and celebration as we wrap up the season and gear up for the months ahead. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, September 10 Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email centercareers@thedccenter.org or visit www.thedccenter.org/careers.

Thursday, September 11 The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org or call 202-682-2245.

Virtual Yoga with Charles M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.

OUT & ABOUT Kinky, alternative, and queer?

There’s an app for you!

Sanctuary Innovations will host “Havven App Launch Party” on Monday, Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. at Hook Hall.

Join the founding team and hundreds of community members for a historic night to officially unveil “Havven” and toast to the sanctuary the LGBTQ community has been waiting for. This isn’t just a party; it’s a statement.

“Havven is the all-in-one social and commerce platform where kink, alternative, and LGBTQ+ communities can build authentic connections and thriving businesses,” its founders said in a statement. “It replaces the unsafe, outdated, and censored digital spaces of today with a single, modern, and truly supportive sanctuary.”

This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 2 5

THEATER

Out musical director takes on re-imagined ‘Damn Yankees’ at Arena Adam Rothenberg on updated iconic show with hip-hop influences

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

As a kid in Syracuse, N.Y., out musical director Adam Rothenberg was terrible at sports.

Though part of an athletic family – his sisters played softball, figure skated, pole vaulted, and his father coached – he says he “couldn’t catch a ball to save his life.”

But Rothenberg, 31, found solace off the baseball diamond: “We had a piano in the house.

After games, I’d play piano for hours. For me it was a way to differentiate myself from the rest of the family. To show my strengths.”

Coming full circle, the Northwestern University and Juilliard-educated Rothenberg is now at Arena Stage music directing a re-imagined production of “Damn Yankees,” that famed 1955 musical comedy hit all about baseball.

Transported to the early 21st century, the production still follows the Faustian deal that transforms a middle-aged sports fan into a young baseball star and includes those iconic songs like “Whatever Lola Wants” and “Who’s Got the Pain?” But it’s not all the same. Reworked by hip-hop theater pioneer Will Power and Tony Award-winning playwright Doug Wright, and performed by a mostly POC cast, it’s more reflective of a different time.

New York City-based Rothenberg, a self-described “proud queer man floating through the world happily single,” says, “I pursued classical piano but couldn’t keep away from musical theater, which lit me up. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to choose. I can do a chamber music one day and be back to musical theater the next.

WASHGINTON BLADE: Thoughts on the “Damn Yankee’s” reimagining?

ADAM ROTHENBERG: From the musical perspective, there’s lyrist Lynn Ahrens. She’s a sorceress in that she manages to insert new words in a way that it’s difficult to tell where the old stop and the new begin; it all feels very natural. It will be interesting when audiences come, especially those familiar with the show. I wonder if they’ll be aware of the changes.

While it’s an existing piece it feels like we’re creating a new musical.

BLADE: Talk a little bit about the part you play in the production.

ROTHENBERG: As music director, my job is to teach the music to the cast, to make sure they know what to sing and how to sing it, to teach them the glorious ensemble arrangements, parts, and harmonies.

This ensemble cast is jaw-droppingly talented. In addition to singing intricate harmonies, they’re able to dance at a stunningly high level. I’m blown away by this cast’s ability to execute difficult things as well as their flexibility to change things up when something’s not working.

Once that part gets rolling, I begin to rehearse the orchestra. And that means some long days for me. As show runs, I’ll be here conducting from a piano, typically playing with one hand and conducting with another or nodding directions.

BLADE: Share your affection for the musicals from Broadway’s “Golden Era” [the big shows from 1940s to the early 1960s].

ROTHENBERG: I trained in the classical music world. Coming from the place of the threes Bs — Brahms, Beethoven, and Bach — there was an effort to explore and preserve older pieces.

Similarly, it has given me a fondness for the old Broadway musicals where there’s also much to explore. But growing up, I loved “Wicked” too.

BLADE: Speaking of reimagining. One of your last big jobs was as associate conductor for the re-imagined production of the recent Tony Award-winning revival of “Sunset Boulevard” starring Nicole Scherzinger.

ROTHENBERG: That was truly a dream job. The show with its sweeping orchestral score was exciting enough, but when I learned that the production was turning the whole idea of what “Sunset Boulevard” might look like on its ear, I was all in.

BLADE: You’ve not only worked on classic musicals but you’ve conducted for shows featuring some classic American performers. Patti Lupone for instance.

ROTHENBERG: We met on the “Company” revival. That was my first time conducting on Broadway. Everyone was truly kind with me. I’ve stepped in for her regular musical director and have done a couple concerts with her at Lincoln Center. We always have a good time.

Once, we were trying to figure out what to wear. She suggested we both wear black tie.

They’ll never be able to tell us apart. So, it was tuxes for both of us.

With theater, you can show as little or as much of your queer identity as you want. I can walk into work and be exactly who I am, and that’s something I never take for granted.

2 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

ADAM ROTHENBERG, musical director for ‘Damn Yankees’ at Arena Stage

‘Damn Yankees’

Sept. 9 - Nov. 9 | Arena Stage

1101 Sixth St., S.W. | Tickets start at $49 (fees included) | Arenastage.org

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 2 7

2 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 2 9

FILM

‘Twinless’ pushes boundaries with darkly comedic ‘bromance’ One of several queer hidden gems hitting screens in September

By JOHN PAUL KING

Let’s face it, the movies have never really been great at representation when it comes to twins.

Sure, Luke and Leia are technically twins in the “Star Wars” movies, but that’s more of a plot point than a relationship to be authentically explored; there are also the precocious pair of twin sisters in two iterations of “The Parent Trap” (Hayley Mills or Lindsay Lohan, take your pick), whose separated-at-birth backstory makes a great premise for a zany identity swap comedy while really having very little to do with the lived experience of most real-world twins.

Far more numerous are the darker portrayals: Bette Davis as a twin who murders her sister in “Dead Ringer”; “Jeremy Irons as a pair of drug-addicted, psychosexually manipulative twin gynecologists who use their practice to prey on women in “Dead Ringers”; and perhaps the most iconic (and scary) of all screen twins, the nightmarishly adorable ghosts of the slain Grady girls (Lisa and Louise Burns) in “The Shining.”

These are just the examples that first spring to mind, but they reflect a consistent pattern in which the presence of twins in a movie is almost always to serve as a plot device, either to fuel a comedy-of-errors farce of mistaken identities, to play out some symbolic “Jekyll/Hyde” melodrama about the inner conflict of good and evil, or simply just to be creepy. If there were a Bechdel Test for twins, Hollywood would be failing on all counts – and while there’s a reason some of these titles are classics, we can’t help thinking that there are a lot of twins out there who would like to see a movie about what it’s actually like to be a twin.

DYLAN O’BRIEN and JAMES SWEENEY in ‘Twinless.’ (Image courtesy of Lionsgate Roadside Attractions)

Ironically enough, the long-buzzed Sundance favorite “Twinless” – in theaters as of Sept. 5 – might come close to fulfilling that need, though it draws from nearly all the tropes discussed above, and despite the fact that both of its leading men have (as the title hints) already lost their twins at the beginning of the story.

We first meet Roman (Dylan O’Brien) shortly after the sudden death of his brother Rocky – from whom he had grown distant – in a traffic accident; angry, emotional, and reeling with the loss, he finds a grief management group for twins who have lost their twins, and connects with another recently bereaved newcomer, the wry and quirky Dennis (James Sweeney, who also wrote and directed the film). The two quickly form a bond of support, filling the void left in their lives by shopping for groceries and eating meals together. Dennis becomes a kind of “surrogate

3 0 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

twin” – he’s even gay, just like Rocky was! – and Roman’s outlook begins to improve as they grow more and more inseparable.

Things start to get a little weird, however, when Dennis takes Roman to a Halloween party (they go dressed as characters from “The Sims” video game, it’s cute) hosted by work friend Marcie (Aisling Franciosi) and there’s a spark of attraction.

Dennis becomes jealous, bringing an uncomfortable awkwardness into their relationship, and he becomes suspicious that his new companion may not have been entirely honest, neither about the true nature of his feelings nor the shared tragedy that brought them together.

To go further would be a spoiler – and “Twinless” is definitely a movie that should be seen “spoiler-free” – so we won’t tell you more. What we will tell you is that what starts out feeling like a heartwarming, feel-good story about two people helping each other move beyond tragedy turns several sharp corners on its way to the end, swerving from bittersweet comedy to endearingly offbeat bromance before veering into mystery and psychodrama as the secrets begin to emerge; we can also tell you that they’re probably not the secrets you think they are.

And if all that feels a bit cryptic, don’t worry; “Twinless” actually divulges its biggest “twist” early on, so everything which follows (mostly, at least) plays like the dark-edged but tender-hearted dramedy it is – except, perhaps, with a somewhat darker edge than before.

Sweeney – whose first feature film (2020’s “Straight Up”) also explored themes of unorthodox love and romance – drives the movie both from behind the camera and in front of it. As a writer/director, he draws on a hodgepodge of styles and contrasting tones to create something that exists in the overlap between quirky love story and unsettling psychological thriller; there’s a macabre humor that spreads beyond the the death at the center of its premise and drapes itself around the starcrossed urban romance of its plot. It’s a discordant mix, perhaps; but instead of jarring us, it evokes a complexity of emotion that is perhaps less threatening than it is challenging, a suspended chord that makes us yearn for completion that may never come. And yet, for all of that, it also manages to be funny, sweet, heartfelt, dramatic, joyful, delicate, and all the other things we look for in a story about love, loss, and the need for human connection.

Likewise, as an actor, Sweeney’s Dennis is the engine that keeps the movie running; mastering the art of deadpan heartbreak with an air of sassy self-candor, he takes over the narrative – literally – from an early point, earning our sympathy even when his motives and his honesty are called into question. Yet while he subtly displaces O’Brien’s Roman as the primary focus (a neat transference of identification that neatly mirrors the film’s theme about the shared identity between twins), he humbly plays the foil to O’Brien’s showier, more intensely emotional performance, allowing his co-star to shine with complex portrayals of not just the grief-muddled Roman, but (via flashbacks, of course) of his sexy, self-actualized gay twin Rocky – an impressive continuation of the actor’s evolution from unlikely junior heartthrob (on MTV’s “Teen Wolf”) into a solid, savvy, and fearlessly soulful leading man.

As for the way the film represents twins, it’s perhaps best to see it metaphorically – there’s an inherent need for an “other” to complete the self, a bond of love that might even be described as a “fraternal romance,” and which may be complicated by questions of sexuality but ultimately transcends them. Roman and Dennis may each be seeking their “replacement” twins, but what they are really after is the same thing we all long for – love and connection in a lonely world.

Though at times it feels transgressive, asking us to forgive sins that feel unforgivable in an age when every perceived slight is just cause for outrage, “Twinless” imagines a pathway back to basics, out of the tangled web of identity and custom to an understanding that yes, love is truly just love – and it defies labels, limitations, or legality. That makes it an unabashedly queer movie, even if one of its leading male characters is straight.

A refreshingly unique piece of cinema that reminds us of how much we all belong to each other, “Twinless” is one of several queer “hidden gems” hitting screens in September. We encourage you to place it near the top of your list.

IN A CELL BUILT TO SILENCE, A STORY BECOMES RESISTANCE. IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES

GALATHEATRE.ORG

WRITTEN BY MANUEL PUIG DIRECTED BY JOSÉ LUIS ARELLANO

SEPTEMBER 4 - 28

202-234-7174

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 3 1

BOOKS

New book explores contributions of African Americans to settling of the West Horses have been hiding in plain sight in Black history for centuries

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

One thousand, two hundred pounds and four legs.

Put that between your knees and you’ll find out what real horsepower is. You’re five feet off the ground, moving as fast as a car on a downtown street, hooves pounding as hard as your heart. Dangerous? Maybe. But as you’ll see in “Mounted” by Bitter Kalli, your ancestors did it and so can you.

When they were a young child, “around the age of six or seven,” someone gave Bitter Kalli a set of “pony books,” the kind that appeal to young girls, mostly white ones. Kalli wasn’t entirely comfortable identifying as a girl then but they adored the books, in part because the stories featured the kinds of friendships and acceptance Kalli wanted. After devouring those stories, they begged their parents for riding lessons from a nearby Brooklyn stable.

Fast forward to 2014, when Kalli was 17 years old, an experienced equestrian, a trans individual, and a protester at college.

During that protest, they watched the horses that carried the police, and wondered what those animals saw in the crowd.

For that matter, what did horses see throughout Black history?

In times of slavery, it was not uncommon for fleeing slaves to steal a horse or two to get away faster. Kalli shares heart-pounding tales of escape, sharing examples of how human chattel was often compared to that of equines in newspaper ads, as slaveholders mourned the latter loss much deeper than the former.

Many Americans are unaware of the rich contributions that African Americans made to the settling of the West. Kalli examines a popular movie, deconstructing it and adding real history to the Hollywood tale.

“What we know as the Wild West would not exist without the 182,000 enslaved people living in Texas in 1860…” they say.

Horses are featured in many of the world’s religions. Horsey language lends itself to the erotic. Even, says Kalli, “Black and brown youth in Brooklyn” understood the appeal of a good-looking Polo pony…

Take a good study of the cover of “Mounted.” Appreciate the artwork, notice the design. Then add this book to your “Things I Never Really Thought About” list, because you’ll think about it now. And you’re going to want to read every delicious word.

Horses have been hiding in plain sight in Black history for centuries, but author Bitter Kalli pulls them to the forefront, turning each facet of the subject over for deeper examination and additional thought. Happily, you won’t feel forced to do that; their writing comes across like an invitation to a warm, intimate conversation, the kind you get while casually hanging out with a new group of friends on the patio. What you learn is highly intriguing, and you won’t ever see horses in the same way again.

Beware that this book has one explicit chapter inside, but it fits the narrative and you won’t mind. You’ll be too busy enjoying what you read and wanting more. For horse lovers and history lovers alike, “Mounted” is the perfect ride.

‘Mounted: On Horses, Blackness, and Liberation’

By Bitter Kalli | c.2025, Amistad | $22 | 192 pages

3 2 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

Now more than ever, r, r it’s important to celebrate and uplift the people, places, and organizations that make our community strong.

Nominate your favorites in each category through September 7th at BestOfLGBTQDC.com

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 3 3

3 4 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5

4 Days | 130+ Artists | 100+ Hours Free Music | 15 Venues

ut

o old

s

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 3 5

REAL ESTATE

The best places for LGBTQ Americans to retire abroad Lisbon, Barcelona, Puerto Vallarta, and others offer many benefits

By SCOTT HELMS

For many in the LGBTQ community, retirement is about more than just slowing down—it’s an opportunity to enjoy life in places that are welcoming, inclusive, and supportive. While the United States has numerous LGBTQ-friendly cities, many retirees are looking beyond U.S. borders for new adventures, affordable living, and vibrant LGBTQ communities. Whether it’s a charming European village, a lively Latin American city, or a tropical paradise, there are excellent options that combine lifestyle, affordability, and acceptance.

At GayRealEstate.com, we’ve spent more than 30 years connecting LGBTQ buyers and sellers with trusted agents who understand their unique needs. Below are some of the top retirement destinations outside the U.S. where LGBTQ+ individuals can thrive.

1. Lisbon, Portugal Portugal has become one of the most progressive and LGBTQ-inclusive countries in Europe. Lisbon, its capital, offers a warm climate, affordable living compared to other Western European capitals, and excellent healthcare.

• Why it’s great: Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2010, and LGBTQ rights are strongly protected. Lisbon also boasts a lively gay nightlife, charming neighborhoods like Bairro Alto, and easy access to coastal getaways.

• Real estate tip: Portugal’s “Golden Visa” and Non-Habitual Residency program offer tax advantages, making homeownership attractive for international retirees.

2. Barcelona, Spain Spain is consistently ranked among the most LGBTQ-friendly countries in the world, and Barcelona is its shining star.

• Why it’s great: Barcelona combines Mediterranean living with a thriving LGBTQ+ culture. Sitges, a nearby seaside town, is one of Europe’s most famous gay-friendly resort destinations.

• Real estate tip: Property values in central Barcelona can be high, but surrounding neighborhoods and coastal towns offer more affordable options. An LGBTQ-friendly Realtor can help retirees navigate the Spanish property market confidently.

3. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Puerto Vallarta has long been a safe haven for LGBTQ travelers and is now a top retirement destination.

• Why it’s great: With year-round sunshine, affordable healthcare, and a strong LGBTQ community, Puerto Vallarta offers a welcoming environment.

The Zona Romántica neighborhood is particularly popular with LGBTQ residents.

• Real estate tip: Mexico allows foreigners to own property through a bank trust (fideicomiso).

Working with an LGBTQ knowledgeable agent

ensures buyers understand the legal process and avoid pitfalls.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico remains a popular retirement destination for U.S. LGBTQ residents. (Photo by Bill Malcolm)

4. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Beyond the beaches, San Miguel de Allende offers colonial charm, cultural richness, and a large expat community.

• Why it’s great: Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, this city has thriving art, food, and LGBTQ+ scenes. Many U.S. retirees have relocated here for its affordability and inclusivity.

• Real estate tip: Smaller cities in Mexico often provide more bang for your buck in real estate, making them appealing for LGBTQ retirees on a fixed income.

5. Amsterdam, The Netherlands Amsterdam has been a pioneer in LGBTQ rights for decades and remains one of the most accepting cities in the world.

• Why it’s great: The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.

Amsterdam’s canals, museums, and vibrant neighborhoods create an ideal mix of culture and inclusivity.

• Real estate tip: The housing market in Amsterdam can be competitive. LGBTQ retirees should work with experienced agents who understand expat needs and local regulations.

6. Toronto, Canada Though geographically close to the U.S., Canada offers a distinct cultural and legal environment.

• Why it’s great: Toronto has one of the largest LGBTQ communities in North America. It is home to “The Village,” a neighborhood centered around Church and Wellesley Streets. Canada’s healthcare system is another strong draw for retirees.

• Real estate tip: While Toronto’s real estate mar-

3 6 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • B US I NE S S

ket is competitive, surrounding cities such as Hamilton or Guelph provide more affordable options with easy access to Toronto’s LGBTQ scene.

7. Costa Rica Costa Rica is quickly becoming an LGBTQ retirement haven, especially in areas like Manuel Antonio and San José.

• Why it’s great: In 2020, Costa Rica became the first Central American country to legalize samesex marriage. Known for its natural beauty, stability, and friendly locals, it’s a dream destination for many retirees.

• Real estate tip: Foreigners enjoy the same property rights as locals. However, retirees should consider working with an LGBTQ-friendly Realtor who understands the nuances of Costa Rican property laws.

Tips for LGBTQ+ Retirees Considering International Real Estate 1. Research Local Laws and Protections Even in LGBTQ-friendly countries, local laws vary. Understanding anti-discrimination protections and inheritance laws is critical.

2. Work with LGBTQ-friendly Realtors An agent who understands your unique needs ensures you find both the right home and the right community. GayRealEstate.com has a trusted network worldwide to help LGBTQ buyers and sellers.

3. Understand Healthcare Options Access to affordable, quality healthcare is a major consideration. Many LGBTQ retirees find that countries like Portugal, Spain, and Mexico offer excellent healthcare at a fraction of U.S. costs.

4. Community Matters Retirement should feel like a new beginning, not isolation. Look for cities with established LGBTQ neighborhoods, resources, and events to ensure you feel connected.

Retiring abroad can be a fulfilling way to embrace new cultures, experiences, and lifestyles. For LGBTQ individuals, it’s essential to choose destinations that are not only beautiful but also affirming and inclusive. From Portugal’s sunny coastlines to Mexico’s vibrant cities and Costa Rica’s natural wonders, opportunities abound.

No matter where you decide to retire, GayRealEstate.com is here to guide you every step of the way, connecting you with trusted LGBTQ-friendly real estate agents worldwide. For more than 30 years, we’ve helped LGBTQ home buyers and sellers find safe, supportive, and affirming places to call home.

SCOTT HELMS

is president and owner of Gayrealestate.com.

Where luxurious city living is still affordable!

Two Great Homes in the City by the Bay:

In one of Baltimore’s most luxurious condo buildings, with water views and private balcony, this 2 bed/2.5 bath unit has 2 parking spaces, extra storage, and over 1,980 SF of space! Location is convenient to shopping, public transportation, and I-95 access, with common area game room, fitness center, 19th-floor Sky Lounge, 24-7 security, and more.

Price Reduced! Only $499,000!

Covenient to both Fells Point and Canton, a recently renovated 2 bd/2 ba w/den townhouse on a street cut off to thru traffic. Many modern tech upgrades, ready for your Baltimore urban adventure near the harbor! Price Reduced! Only $299,999!

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 3 7

LEGAL NOTICE

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION 2025 FEP 000100 Date of Death January 3, 2024 Virginia S. Maggi aka Virginia Shelley Maggi Name of Decedent

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS Laura Baker aka Laura Maggi Baker, whose address is 42212 Heathman Place, Chantilly, VA 20152 was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Virginia S. Maggi aka Virginia Shelly Maggi, deceased, by the Probate Court for Fairfax County, State of Virginia, on 5/30/25.

Service of process may be made upon Katherine B. Krantz 3429 Patterson St NW, Washington DC 20015 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills for the District of Columbia, Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

Date of first publication: August 22, 2025 /s/Laura M. Baker, Personal Representative, 703-898-0808 A True Test Copy /s/Nicole Stevens, Register of Wills.

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

BUYING JEWELRY/ESTATES

CASH FOR ESTATES

Moving? Downsizing? One item to Whole Estate? Gold Jewelry, Sterling Silver, Quality Glass, Some Furniture, Etc.

TheAtticLLC.com

Gary Roman: 301-520-0755

SEEKING CAREGIV ER

DEDICATED & COMPASSIONATE Are you passionate about making a positive impact in the life of my Mother? I am seeking a dedicated & compassionate caregiver to take care & provide exceptional care for my mother. As a caregiver, you will play a crucial role in supporting my mother who is Elderly.

Schedule is 5 days a week & 5 hours per day. Salary is $30/hr. Apply by contacting me via email at George (gwssheets@gmail.com) for more details.

Thanks for reading the Blade!

Please tell our advertisers, “I saw your ad in the Blade!!”

CLEANING

EMAIL NOW TO PLACE YOUR AD

classifieds@washblade.com

KASPER’S LIVERY SERVICE

Enjoy Lincoln’s “Sanctuary of the Senses”! We can take you there!

Proper DC License & Livery Insured.

Gay & Veteran Owner/Operator.

Since 1987.

FERNANDO’S CLEANING Residential & Commercial Cleaning, Reasonable Rates, Free Estimates, Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/Move-Out

202-486-6183 COUNSELING

COUNSELING FOR LGBTQ

People. Individual/Couples counseling with a volunteer peer counselor. GMCC, serving our community since 1973.

202-580-8861

gaymenscounseling.org No fees. Donation requested.

HANDYMAN

BRITISH REMODELING

Local licensed company with over 25 years of experience. Specializing in bathrooms, kitchens & all interior/exterior repairs. Drywall, paint, electrical, wallpaper, roofing & siding.

Trevor 703-303-8699 LEGAL SERVICES

ADOPTION, DONOR, SURROGACY

legal services. Catelyn represents LGBTQ clients in DC, MD & VA interested in adoption or ART matters.

MODERN FAMILY FORMATION Law Offices,

Slattery Law, LLC. 240-245-7765

Catelyn@ModernFamilyFormation.com

YOUR BUSINESS or NAME HERE!

LIMOUSINES

202-554-2471

www.KasperLivery.com

MEN FOR MEN

TALL, FAIRLY DECENT LOOKING with a hungry mouth iso tall, white dude, well hung, who wants to be deep throated. Give it all to me in return pure pleasure is given.

Sincere replies only, 24 hrs a day.

Call or text:

240-457-1292

BODYWORK

THE MAGIC TOUCH

Swedish, Massage or Deep Tissue.

Appts. Low Rates, 24/7, In-Calls.

202-486-6183

THE WASHINGTON BLADE PUBLISHES

LEGAL NOTICES

including probate, small estates & foreign estates. Public notices are required to be published in newspapers of general circulation because these venues (now both print & online) reach the largest number of people in the community, while offering an easily archivable & verifiable outlet to make sure the notice was published when & how it was intended.

Further, newspapers display notices in the context of other news & information that people in the community read.

Newspapers & their associated websites are the appropriate forums for notices that affect citizens & the general public.

Ask the court to publish yours in the Blade. The courts will take care of the setup process and we will bill you. Another way to support your LGBTQ newspaper!

PLACE YOUR AD ONLINE AT: WASHINGTONBLADE.COM/CLASSIFIEDS!

If you need assistance, please email the text & image for your ad to: classifieds@washblade.com or call 202-747-2077 x 8092 & leave a message. We will be happy to assist you!

Email your FREE* personal or housing share ad to us! (*first 25 words are free)

3 8 • WA SHIN GTO N BLADE.COM • SEPTEMBER 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • C LA S S I F I E D S

S E PT E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 2 5 • WA S H I N GTO N B L A D E.CO M • 3 9

STDs are

Timeless Wellness Centers Baltimore 2510 St Paul St, Fl 1 (833) 243-7411

Capitol Hill 650 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Ste 310 (833) 243-7411

Temple Hills 4302 St Barnabas Rd, Ste B (833) 243-7411