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HUD Threatens to Cut Washington D.C.'s HIV/AIDS Funding

Federal officials warn Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty they may cut off more than $12 million in funding for the District of Columbia's HIV/AIDS program. This would be the first time in the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development's AIDS housing program's 18-year history that money would be withheld from a city based on "poor performance", reports the Washington Post.

"Assistant Secretary Mercedes M. Márquez said HUD will send a letter to the city this week stipulating that no new AIDS housing money will be awarded unless the D.C. Department of Health's HIV/AIDS Administration improves its tracking of services and spending. Márquez also wrote last week to D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), saying she was "deeply concerned" about a recent Washington Post series that found the HIV/AIDS Administration had paid more than $25 million to nonprofit groups that delivered substandard care or failed to account for their work."

HUD officials say getting financial records from the District government is "like pulling teeth, reports City Paper.

In recent years, the District's HIV/AIDS Office has been criticized for not filling key management posts and lacking a strategic plan to counter DC's soaring seroconversion rates. At least 3 percent of Washington D.C. residents have either HIV or AIDS. The District of Columbia's HIV rate is the highest in the country and "higher than West Africa and on par with Uganda and some parts of Kenya." Black gay men continue to be most affected by DC's HIV/AIDS crisis.

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WATCH: D.C. Council Member David Catania Introduces Marriage Bill

As promised, Washington D.C. Council Member David Catania introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia.  The bill should pass easily. Mayor Adrian Fenty says he will sign the bill.

Ten of the Council's 13 members have signed on as co-sponsors. The three Council members who did not join the majority as co-sponsors—Harry Thomas Jr. (Ward 5), Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) and Marion Barry (Ward 8).—represent majority black communities. Barry, who was a strong gay rights supporter during his term as mayor in the 1980s and early 1990s, emerged as the Council's sole opponent of marriage equality and claimed to oppose it on "moral grounds."

Alexander and Thomas voted for the same-sex marriage recognition bill earlier this year and have said they want to carefully review Catania's full same-sex marriage rights bill before making on final decision on whether they will support it when it comes up for a 'first-reading' vote that's expected in November. Activists familiar with wards 5 and 7 have said Thomas and Alexander are facing intense pressure from ministers and socially conservative constituents to vote against same-sex marriage.

D.C. has a very large and well-to-do black gay community. So far, most have maintained radio silence during the marriage equality debate. Maybe they're still recovering from all the summer circuit parties and barbecues ...

JUMP to watch Catania introduce the bill.

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Holmes Norton: No Congressional Opposition to DC Marriage Bill

Later this morning, openly gay D.C. Council Member David Catania will introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia. The bill will not be blocked in Congress, according to a report in the Washington Post:

In an interview, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said she had received assurances from House Democratic leaders that she doesn’t need to worry about congressional intervention. "The House and Senate have their plates really full," Norton said. "I don’t think this is anything that is going to somehow scramble over into that."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who tried to derail a bill passed by the council this year recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, also expressed doubts that he or other Republicans could be major obstacles. "Given the gravity of health care and other tumultuous debate, it hasn’t got much attention," said Chaffetz, the ranking member of the House subcommittee that oversees the District. "You couple that with the Democrats’ stranglehold on the rules, and the minority is left somewhat impotent."

Last week, Holmes Norton came out strongly for the D.C. marriage bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has previously said the House will not interfere in the DC Council's marriage decisions.

The District has recognized valid same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions since July.  It will become the only jurisdiction south of the Mason-Dixon line where same-sex marriage is legal.

D.C. Marriage Equality Bill To Be Introduced Tuesday

As promised, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia will be introduced on Tuesday, says the bill's sponsor, D.C. Council Member David Catania.

"Catania made his announcement before 150 gay rights activists gathered in Shaw for a rally featuring the Rev. Eric P. Lee, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 'We are going to do it now,' Catania told the crowd. 'We are going to do it now, not for ourselves, but for the young people who are 20 years-old, 16-years-old, 13-years-old.'

According to a copy of the bill, the city code would be changed to state 'marriage is the legally recognized union of two people' and 'any person ... may marry any other eligible person regardless of gender.' Catania's bill, which states religious organizations and officials have the right not to participate in same-sex marriages, is expected to pass the council easily when it comes up for a vote around Thanksgiving. Ten of 13 council members will co-introduce Catania's bill Tuesday, and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) has pledged to sign it. But the measure still would have to get past Congress, which can overturn District legislation under Home Rule."

Speaker Pelosi has previously said the House will not interfere.

The District is poised to become the only jurisdiction south of the Mason-Dixon line where same-sex marrige is legal. D.C. has recognized valid same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions since July.

Passage of D.C. Marriage Equality Bill Said to Be Imminent

Washington D.C. is poised to become the only jurisdiction south of the Mason-Dixon line where same-sex couples can marry, reports the Washington Post.

After months of buildup and behind-the-scenes lobbying, a bill by David A. Catania, one of two openly gay members of the council, has been drafted and is ready to be introduced in the coming weeks. Catania (I-At Large) expects a final vote before the end of the year. On Thursday, Catania said he had 10 co-sponsors, all but assuring that the measure will be approved by the council. The bill would have to survive congressional review before it could become law. Gays and lesbians from across the country would probably flock to the city to take their vows, as they did in California before voters passed a referendum banning same-sex marriages. Gay rights activists in Maryland said the sight of gay couples getting married in the District would boost the chance that the General Assembly would approve a gay marriage bill within a few year.

Sources tell the Washington Blade that Catania will introduce his bill before month's end.

The three Council members who have not committed to supporting the bill—Harry Thomas Jr. (Ward 5), Yvette M. Alexander (Ward 7) and Marion Barry (Ward 8)—represent majority black communities. Alexander is thought to be a swing vote. In May, she supported the ordinance that recognized same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions and was threatened by anti-gay black pastors.

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty Makes Push for Gay Games 2014

Sorry for being a day or so late with this one: Despite scorching temps in the 90s, Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty rallied a crowd to make a push for the Gay Games IX, The Freedom Games, in the nation's capital in 2014 and stage "the most successful games in history."

Fenty told the crowd of about one thousand at Stead Field on 17th Street in DuPont Circle: "This is a fabulous city. The city's hot right now—hot in lots of ways.  We have, not only fabulous, but a growing GLBT community. We have organized sports in so many different ways. And we are more than ready to host the Gay Games, without any question."

The mayor continued: "What I'll say to you as the Mayor of the District of Columbia is, we will put the resources of the government at your disposal. We will make sure not only that we do everything necessary to make these games successful, but that they are the best Games ever, and no other city will ever be able to match the amount of support and resources we put into it."

Boston and Cleveland are also vying for the 2014 Gay Games. The District will makes its final presentation to the Federation of Gay Games in Cologne, Germany, in late September. The winning city will be announced Sept. 29.

D.C. Election Officials Block Marriage Referendum

Excellent news. The D.C. Board of Elections & Ethics has blocked a proposed voter referendum seeking to overturn a city law recognizing same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions because it would violate the District's human rights law, the Washington Blade reports.

The referendum was sought by the publicity-hungry gay-bashing Bishop Harry Jackson and a group of local ministers. The Blade reports: "In their 12-page memorandum, board members Errol Arthur and Charles Lowery Jr. concluded 'that the referendum does not present a proper subject of referendum because it would authorize discrimination prohibited under the Human Rights Act. Because the referendum would authorize discrimination prohibited by the HRA, it is not a proper subject for referendum, and may not be accepted by the board,' says the memorandum. The ruling came days after D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles issued a legal opinion saying the proposed voter referendum should not be allowed."

Jackson, of the Hope Christian Church in nearby Beltsville Maryland, has been the chief opponent of the move toward marriage equality in the nation's capitol. In late April, the anti-gay reverend and Marion Barry, the former mayor and current council member, lead an anti-gay rally to protest the Council's vote. 

Mayor Adrian Fenty has signed the bill. The legislation becomes law after July 6th unless Congress intervenes.

Some Background...
Anti-Gay Ministers Want Referendum [R20]
Marriage Equality Debate in D.C.'s Black Community [R20]
Anti-Gay Black Pastors Threaten to Unseat Council [R20]
D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' SSMs [R20]
Marion Barry Reneges on Marriage Equality [R20]
Mayor Fenty Defends Council's Gay Marriage Vote [R20]

Holocaust Museum Gunman Charged with Murder

Authorities file federal charges that could carry the death penalty against 88-year-old avowed white supremacist James W. von Brunn in yesterday's fatal shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, according to news reports.

The New York Times reports: "Police on Thursday charged Mr. von Brunn, who was in critical condition at George Washington University Hospital, with murder in the death of Mr. Johns, 39, from Temple Hills, Md. The victim, who worked for a private security company, had been assigned to the museum for six years. Mr. von Brunn was also charged with possessing and shooting a firearm in a federal building, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was pursuing charges of civil rights and hate crimes against him. F.B.I. officials said they thought Mr. von Brunn had acted alone."

The Washington Post reports investigators found bizarre, handwritten notes in the gunman's car that alluded to racist, anti-Semitic conspiracies and President Barack Obama. "You want my weapons—this is how you'll get them. The Holocaust is a lie. Obama created the Jews [sic]. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do."

The Southern Poverty Law Center describes von Brunn as a "raging anti-Semite and racist" with "a long history of associations with prominent neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers."

 

AFTER THE JUMP,  watch Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announce murder charges are filed against von Brunn and Rachel Maddow profiles the shooter's internet trail of hate.

Anti-Gay Ministers Want Referendum on D.C. Marriage

Clearly buoyed by Tuesday's decision by the California Supreme Court to let stand the voter-approved initiative that banned same-sex marriage, the publicity-hungry gay-bashing Bishop Harry Jackson and a group of local ministers filed papers requesting a voter referendum to overturn the new Washington D.C. law that recognizes legal same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, reports the Washington Post.

In paperwork filed with the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, the group Stand 4 Marriage D.C. said it wants to begin the process of collecting about 21,000 signatures needed to overturn the bill that the D.C. Council overwhelmingly approved this month recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. That bill is tentatively scheduled to take effect in July.

The referendum effort is a preemptive strike designed to slow plans by several council members to take up a separate bill this year to allow same-sex marriages to be performed in the District.

"It's a declaration of war," said Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, a vocal critic of same-sex marriage and a leader of the referendum effort. "We are sending a clear message this is going to be fought every step of the way."

Jackson has allied with other ministers from the Washington region. The Archdiocese of Washington issued a statement yesterday reiterating its opposition to same-sex marriage but withheld support for the proposed referendum until church officials could review it.

Marriage equality opponents in the District will face a much greater hurdle to get the issue on the ballot than opponents did in California. The Washington Blade reports: "The law prohibits referenda aimed at changing tax laws, appropriating funds or restricting or repealing the city's Human Rights Act. Some gay activists have argued that a referendum calling for prohibiting same-sex marriage in the District could not be allowed because it would violate the Human Rights Act's ban on sexual orientation discrimination. "

Michael Crawford, the black gay activist, blogger and president of the same-sex marriage advocacy group D.C. For Marriage, says the fight against ,marriage in the District is likely to become even uglier than California. "I think we would see a very divisive campaign along racial lines," Crawford said. "It's up to each of us to work hard to make sure that doesn't happen."

Group Seeks to Block DC Bill [WaPo]
Anti-Gay Ministers Seek Referndum [Blade]

Some Background...
Anti-Gay Black Pastors Threaten to Unseat Council [R20]
D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' SSMs [R20]
Marion Barry Reneges on Marriage Equality [R20]
Mayor Fenty Defends Council's Gay Marriage Vote [R20]
DC Mayor Fenty to Meet with Activists on Anti-Gay Violence [R20]
DC Police Say Fatal Attack Robbery, Not Hate Crime [R20]
Report: Fenty Pledges to Sign a Gay Marriage Bill [R20]
Marion Barry Supports Gay Marriage [R20]
Fenty Staff Blamed For Objections to DP Bill [R20]
Fenty Admin. Objects to Domestic Partnership Bill [R20]

AP Reports on Marriage Equality Debate in D.C.'s Black Community

Very interesting. The Associated Press takes up the thorny issue of blacks and same-sex marriage in our nation's capitol, framing the recent city council vote to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages as a "signal the gay rights movement is making inroads among groups traditionally opposed to it."

"Washington became the first place in the U.S. with a large percentage of black residents to take up the issue. As more than 100 mostly black protesters gathered outside city hall, council member Marion Barry, a longtime supporter of gay rights, rejected the measure and sided with ministers who he said "stand on the moral compass of God." Despite Barry and Jackson's claims, there's evidence the city isn't as split on gay marriage as some suggest. Of the 12 council members who voted in favor of gay-marriage, six are black."

The money quote is from Donna Payne at the Human Rights Campaign on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on blacks gays in the black church. "A black preacher once told her she would be accepted into his church under one condition—that she didn't tell anyone she was a lesbian. Payne said keeping quiet wasn't possible. 'That's the conundrum in the African-American community,'  Payne said. 'They don't want to talk about it, but they know you're there.' "

Payne is spot-on. There are precious few black gayborhoods in the country and the majority of black LGBTs live in the larger black community. On the other hand Washington D.C. has one of the largest black LGBT communities in the country—many of whom live in NE and SE, many others in suburban Maryland. Will the District's many black gay men and lesbians stand up and be counted while Marion Barry and Harry Jackson insist there are few "out" black gays in their city? We shall see...

Gay Marriage in DC Moves Debate [AP]

Some Background...
Anti-Gay Black Pastors Threaten to Unseat Council [R20]
D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' SSMs [R20]
Marion Barry Reneges on Marriage Equality [R20]
Mayor Fenty Defends Council's Gay Marriage Vote [R20]
DC Mayor Fenty to Meet with Activists on Anti-Gay Violence [R20]
DC Police Say Fatal Attack Robbery, Not Hate Crime [R20]
Report: Fenty Pledges to Sign a Gay Marriage Bill [R20]
Marion Barry Supports Gay Marriage [R20]
Fenty Staff Blamed For Objections to DP Bill [R20]
Fenty Admin. Objects to Domestic Partnership Bill [R20]