Blog
Pride: Commemorating, Celebrating, and Communing
Pride is an opportunity for us, the LGBTQ+ community and our allies, to commemorate, celebrate, and commune with one another. We remember past and current struggles for our civil rights. We celebrate the freedoms and equalities gained. We come together as a visible presence in the wider community to affirm one another.
See MoreRemembering Donald Davenport, Activist and Long-time LGBT+ Democrats of VA Board Member
Long-time LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia Board Member, Vice-Chair for Outreach, and activist Donald Davenport passed away on May 6th, 2024, after a lengthy illness. Don’s dedication to the Democratic Party was only outpaced by the warmth of his personality. From being at the Stonewall Riot to zig-zagging around the Commonwealth representing the Democratic Party at Pride events, Don’s activism and spirit impacted countless individuals. He will be sorely missed.
See MoreSenator Danica Roem Encourages Transgender Visibility
Democratic Virginia Senate Senator Danica Roem spoke at the Festival of the Book held in Charlottesville on Saturday, March 23, 2024 about her book, Burn the Page, published in 2022 and her experience as a transgender candidate and member of the Virginia General Assembly. She encouraged transgender political hopefuls to “be vulnerable enough to be visible.”
See MoreRemembering Cragg Hines, a “Democrat’s Democrat”
Virginia Democrats lost a fixture in the Party with the passing of Cragg Hines on December 16th, 2023. Hines was a longtime supporter of LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia as an early caucus member. He was also a member of Virginia Partisans, the predecessor to the caucus, helping to raise funds to support LGBT+ and pro-LGBT+ candidates for elected office in Virginia. In addition to his Democratic activism, Cragg Hines had a storied and award-winning career as a journalist. He was a correspondent, bureau chief, and columnist for the Houston Chronicle.
See MoreThoughts and an Ask as We Close 2023
It’s been quite the year as we battled for the soul of the Commonwealth. Maintaining Democratic leadership over the Virginia Senate was critical in continuing to thwart the efforts of Glenn Youngkin to delegitimize, demonize, and restrict freedoms of individuals who don’t share his right-wing ideology. We did more than maintain control of the Virginia Senate. We won control of the Virginia House of Delegates as well.
See MoreWhy We’re Leaving Twitter
We cannot tacitly endorse the ideology at the helm of Twitter/X as the platform becomes less safe for the LGBT+ community. After over 12 years and over 800 posts, it’s time for us to leave. Fortunately, many other ways exist to stay connected with LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia.
See MoreStatement: Murder of Jacob Williamson, South Carolina Transgender Man
Williamson’s murder underscores the need for Virginia and the nation to recognize gender identity and sexual orientation as hate crime categories and oppose legislation and policies targeting transgender individuals and those that delegitimize and erase the transgender experience.
See MoreLGBT+ Democrats Endorse Ten June 20th Primary Winners
LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia, the official LGBT+ caucus of the Democratic Party of Virginia, added nine June 20th Democratic projected primary winners to their 2023 endorsements. These candidates were previously endorsed by the caucus in a prior general election.
See MoreLGBT+ Democrats of Virginia Launch New Endorsement Questionnaire
The endorsement questionnaire for LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia now includes questions about ensuring equal access to public services, preserving free speech and expression, prohibiting bans on LGBT+ military service, protecting transgender students in public schools, ensuring access to gender-affirming health care, and more issues important to the LGBT+ community that have been subjects of recent legislation. The last update to the questionnaire was in 2021.
See MoreWhat Pride Includes
With the increase in political rhetoric and legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community, Joel McDonald, chair of LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia, shares how Pride includes families, faith, and patriotism.
See MoreJoin Us in Continuing the Fight for a Better Virginia.
We Can't Be Passive In Our Civil Rights.