ANNAPOLIS – Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Wednesday signed a bill that requires the state’s Medicaid program to cover gender-affirming treatment.

The Trans Health Equity Act is one of the more than 100 measures that Moore signed during a ceremony that took place at the State Capitol. Some of the other bills the governor signed focused on reproductive rights and marijuana.

“Another successful bill signing from (Gov. Wes Moore), (Lieutenant Gov. Aruna Miller), (Senate President Bill Ferguson) and (House Speaker Adrienne Jones),” tweeted state Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City), who introduced the Trans Health Equity Act in the Maryland Senate. “Today, the Trans Health Equity Act (SB460) was signed into law, protecting the rights of trans Marylanders and offering them equal opportunities.”

Another successful bill signing from @GovWesMoore @LtGovMiller @SenBillFerg and @SpeakerAJones . Today, the Trans Health Equity Act (SB460) was signed into law, protecting the rights of trans Marylanders and offering them equal opportunities. #LGBTQIA pic.twitter.com/42WVNRoXaT

— State Senator Mary Washington (@StateSenMaryW) May 4, 2023

The Trans Health Equity Act is slated to take effect on Jan. 1.

Maryland lawmakers during this year’s legislation that ended last month passed a bill that will repeal the state’s Unnatural or Perverted Sexual Practices Act. Moore’s office has not announced when the governor will sign it.

ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland House of Delegates on Saturday approved a bill that would require the state’s Medicaid program to cover gender-affirming treatment for transgender people.

House Bill 283, or the Trans Health Equity Act, passed by a 93-37 vote margin. The measure now goes before the Maryland Senate.

“Proud that the MD House of Delegates passed the Trans Health Equity Act with such a strong majority,” tweeted state Del. Anne Kaiser (D-Montgomery County), who introduced HB 283.

Proud that the MD House of Delegates passed the Trans Health Equity Act with such a strong majority. #TransHumanity pic.twitter.com/1E8MoDFQex

— Anne R. Kaiser (@DelegateKaiser) March 18, 2023

ROCKVILLE, Md. – About 30,000 children age out of foster care each year and 70 percent of those children wind up homeless. The majority of the homeless population under the age of 18 are LGBTQ youth, often who can’t find an inclusive home and enter group homes where more prevalent mental, sexual, and psychological abuse turns them to the streets.

When an LGBTQ child enters the foster care system, the pot of eligible homes becomes smaller, said Rob Scheer, the founder of Comfort Cases, a non-profit that supplies personal care items to youth entering the foster care system. 

“The first thing we think of as kids in our system when we realize that we are part of the LGBTQ+ family, is why am I damaged?” said Scheer, a gay man who experienced the foster care system as a child. “Why am I not given that open space to be free and be who I am?”

The average child in foster care moves from three to four homes before finding a long-term placement. This is often due to foster care agencies’ neglect to inform foster parents that a child is a part of the LGBTQ community. However, when foster parents are informed of the child’s identity, less movement occurs.

Even when children come out as being LGBTQ and the foster parents allow them to stay, some homes do so in order to receive a monthly stipend from the government or private foster agency, Scheer said. This puts children at risk of both direct and indirect mental abuse.

Indirect heterosexism that sends micro-messages of shame is extremely harmful to kids, according to Chloe Perez, the CEO of Hearts and Homes for Youth, a non-profit working with children with higher levels of need, such as therapy appointments for a mental health diagnosis. 

“We have had parents who have talked about, ‘Oh, you know, his frilly, girly, feminine ways,” said Perez. “Maybe they’re not saying I hate gay people…but it’s that subliminal messaging all the time that is equally detrimental.”

It’s common for LGBTQ children to either stay quiet about their sexuality or identity or act out to disrupt a placement before they risk rejection from the family.  

By age five or six, many children already experience rejection and the resulting trauma from multiple placements, Perez added. However, when foster parents know how to manage disruptive behaviors, there’s less risk of additional placement disruption.

But this requires specific vetting and training procedures for potential foster parents. 

Once potential foster parents complete all of the state’s criteria, Hearts and Homes for Youth provide an additional, extensive training program. Since some kids come into the non-profit’s care after 14 or 15 placements, this process includes trauma-response training that informs parents of a child’s possible emotional reactions.

If any foster parent says they don’t want to foster LGBTQ or BIPOC kids, Perez said they try to understand where the parents’ concern stems from to resolve the issue.

“[Whether it’s] cultural, age or based around religion…we have seen that sometimes just really having that in-depth conversation can help them shift,” said Perez. “If they’re not willing to do that, then that’s a no-go.”

Parents are often more direct when it comes to saying they won’t take an LGBTQ child as opposed to a child of color, Perez added, because people are more comfortable openly expressing their opinions about sexual orientation or identity than race, which is more commonly condemned.

If problems arise once a child is in a foster home, an agent conducts an at-home check-in to assess whether the foster parent needs to redo training. However, most issues after the placement are centered around parents’ discipline practices, such as smacking a child, rather than discrimination.

In the case that a foster home isn’t suitable, Hearts and Homes for Youth also offers five group homes and an independent living program for pregnant and parenting teen moms. 

However, the high rate of suicide among LGBTQ children in foster care continues to reflect the conditions for most LGBTQ kids beyond their care.

“What we need to do in society is step up our social responsibility and make sure that we are giving these kids everything that I give to my five children,” said Scheer. “Guidance, unconditional support, and unconditional love.”

For information on how to become a foster parent in D.C., visit cfsa.dc.gov/service/become-foster-or-adoptive-parent.

SILVER SPRING, Md. – Montgomery County Maryland police say they dispersed members of the far-right group Proud Boys and others confronting them on Saturday outside the Loyalty Bookstore in Silver Spring after members of the group staged a protest against a Drag Story Hour held at the bookstore.

D.C. drag performer Charlemagne Chateau was hosting the drag queen story hour, an event held in recent years in libraries and bookstores across the country in which a drag queen reads from children’s books to groups of children accompanied by their parents.

Photos and videos posted on social media show Proud Boys members wearing masks and holding signs outside the bookstore. NBC Washington reported that one of the signs said, “Proud Boys love children. Proud Boys hate pedophiles. Leave kids alone.”

WRC NBC 4 Washington noted that a separate group that provides support for drag queen story hour events called the Parasol Patrol was present during the protest and some of its members were kicked and had their feet stomped by the Proud Boys members. One of the Parasol Patrol members was punched in the face by a Proud Boys member, the TV news station reported.

In a Twitter posting, Loyalty Bookstore praised the Parasol Patrol members for preventing the Proud Boys from disrupting the drag book reading event.

“Yesterday afternoon Loyalty came under attack from hate groups who tried to force their way into our store during Drag Queen Story Hour with physical violence,” the bookstore’s posting says. “The incredible @parasolpatrol and the [Montgomery County] chapter of @Drag Story Hour did wonders to not only push back and hold the safe space, but to keep cheering and singing joyfully in the face of hate speech and disgusting threats,” the bookstore’s posting continues.

“Because of their efforts the children inside the store got to enjoy doing Hokey Pokey, hearing beautiful books read aloud,” the posting says.

In response to a request for comment by the Washington Blade, a spokesperson for Montgomery County police said police were not notified in advance that the drag queen story hour was taking place.

The spokesperson, Shiera Goff, said officers were dispatched to the bookstore about 1:05 p.m. on Saturday and observed a “confrontation between the two groups,” in referring to the Proud Boys and the Parasol Patrol.

“Police were called and dispersed the crowd,” she told the Blade in an email message. “No one was arrested and no reports of injuries.”

In a separate Twitter posting, Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink (D-District 5) praised efforts to defend the event.

“Proud Boys showed up in Silver Spring and got violent today, trying to scare away families and children attending Drag Story Hour at Loyalty Books,” Mink said in her post. “But the community held a wall of safety and support. The kids had a great time and were none the wiser,” she wrote. “We will never back down.”

In a brief Facebook posting, drag performer Chateau said the Proud Boys confrontation was “not the kind of attention I wanted,” adding, “Thank you to the Parasol Patrol for keeping me and the families who were at the event safe.”

On its website, Drag Story Hour says following its founding in 2015 the organization has evolved into a national nonprofit global network of local organizations carrying out the mission of the original San Francisco-based group that started the reading by drag queens of books to kids in libraries, bookstores and schools.

“In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where everyone can be their authentic selves,” the organization says on its website.

ANNAPOLIS – Maryland’s new governor Wes Moore was sworn into office on Wednesday.

Moore, who defeated then-state Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick County) last November, is Maryland’s first Black governor. Lieutenant Gov. Aruna Miller is the first woman of South Asian descent elected lieutenant governor in the country.

Moore and Miller will succeed Republicans Larry Hogan and Boyd Rutherford respectively. Oprah Winfrey is among those who attended Wednesday’s inauguration that took place at the State Capitol in Annapolis.

“In the state of Maryland, anything is possible,” said Moore in his inaugural speech. “Today is a celebration of our collective future.”

Moore during a pre-election interview with the Washington Blade expressed his support for LGBTQ rights.

“I care deeply about the LGBTQ+ community,” he said. “And we’re always going to fight to ensure that Maryland is a state that is open and welcome to all, regardless of who you are, regardless of who you love.”

Moore told the Blade that he will enforce the Inclusive Schools Act that, among other things, bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Maryland’s public schools. Moore in his inaugural speech specifically mentioned the need to protect the state’s LGBTQ students.

Moore last October told the Blade he will urge lawmakers to support the Trans Health Equity Act, which would expand coverage of gender-affirming health care for transgender Marylanders under the state’s Medicaid program.

Moore has appointed Anthony Woods, an openly gay U.S. Army veteran who was discharged under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in 2008, as head of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs. 

“The thing that people will see is that this is not just a new thing to me,” Moore told the Blade. “We have a track record on working on these issues, whether it is the work I did on the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ whether it is the work I did when I was running one of the largest poverty-fighting organizations in the country, and supporting organizations that were supporting LGBTQ plus homeless youth.”

BALTIMORE – Republican Maryland gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox on Wednesday said there is “transgender indoctrination” in the state’s kindergartens.

“We’re not doing enough because too many times we exclude the parents from involvement,” said Cox in response to a question about support for LGBTQ students in Maryland schools during a debate against Democrat Wes Moore that Maryland Public Television hosted at Morgan State University in Baltimore. “I fought against a bill that would literally allow 12-year-olds to receive counseling without their parents even knowing. That’s wrong. We need to make sure parents are involved.”

“What I will do also is ensure that the indoctrination stops,” added Cox. “We cannot have transgender indoctrination in kindergarten. That’s preposterous. That’s exactly what my opponent supports. It’s on his website. I will stand against that and eradicate that from the curriculum and get back to world class learning.”

Cox also noted “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” a book that nonbinary author Maia Kobabe wrote, depicts “things that I cannot show you on television, it’s so disgusting.”

“We’re going to change that and say let’s get back to math, let’s get back to making sure that our kids know how to read and write,” said Cox.

Moore in response to the question said “many of the issues that we’re discussing are being addressed at the local level and it’s important for the state to understand that we’re a partner in that, but we don’t dictate to the local jurisdictions as to how their education processes work.”

“I have an 11-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son,” said Moore. “All I ever want for my children is for them to be seen and for them to feel like they are being heard and I want the same thing for every child.”

Moore noted rates of homelessness are higher among LGBTQ youth in Maryland than for those who identify as heterosexual. He also pointed to a statistic that indicate 80 percent of transgender people in the state have considered suicide.

“I want to say to all of our LGBTQ youth and families: I see you and I hear you and all policies that will be made will be made in partnership because that is how we have to lead as a state, in partnership,” said Moore.

Cox, who represents District 4 in the Maryland House of Delegates, last October sought to amend an education bill that would restrict what he has described as “classroom indoctrination” around gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. The Trump-backed Republican, among other things, has also said he would ban transgender students from girls’ sports teams.

A poll the Washington Post and the University of Maryland released last week shows Cox is trailing Moore by 32 points.

GREENBELT, Md. – The Prince George’s County, Md., Board of Education and transgender former teacher Jennifer Eller have reached a settlement agreement regarding a 2018 discrimination lawsuit that Eller filed against the P.G. school system, according to a statement released by Eller’s attorneys.

Eller’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, charged that Eller suffered years of abuse, harassment, and discrimination at the hands of students, fellow teachers, staff, and school administrators while working as an English teacher in P.G. County’s public schools because of her status as a transgender woman.

The statement released by the LGBTQ litigation group Lambda Legal and the law firm Arnold & Porter, which provided pro bono legal representation for Eller, calls the settlement a victory for her.

“The settlement agreement includes monetary compensation and incorporates policy and training changes to protect transgender students and staff within Prince George’s County Public Schools,” the statement says.

“I’m relieved to see this case finally come to a resolution and satisfied to see that our case led to the adoption of these policy changes and training protocols to improve the school environment for everyone, including LGBTQ+ students and teachers” Eller said in the statement. “This settlement vindicates my pleas for help and sensitivity training on LGBTQ+ issues for students and staff,” she said.

The statement does not provide specific details of the terms of the settlement and does not disclose the amount of monetary compensation provided by the P.G. County Schools to Eller.

The lawsuit, as originally filed, called for the court to grant Eller “declaratory injunctive relief” to legally confirm she was forced to resign due to adverse conditions imposed on her by school officials. It also called for the court to require the school system to provide her back pay, lost benefits, and a possible reinstatement as a teacher.

Lambda Legal spokesperson Samy Nemir told the Blade Eller’s attorneys were not at liberty to disclose the amount of the monetary compensation due to a confidentiality agreement that was part of the settlement.

Washington D.C.’s WTOP News reported that a spokesperson for the P.G. County Public Schools said the school system was committed to “promoting and maintaining learning and working environments that are safe, positive and affirming for all students and staff regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.”

According to WTOP, the spokesperson said the lawsuit was “resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.”

In court filings in response to the lawsuit, P.G. school officials denied Eller’s allegations of discrimination and harassment. In January of this year attorneys for the P.G. schools filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case on grounds that the lawsuit failed to provide sufficient evidence that Eller was subjected to discrimination and harassment that forced her to resign due to a hostile work environment.

But in a development that likely prompted P.G. school officials to settle the case, U.S. District Court Judge Theodore D. Chuang denied the motion to dismiss the case and ruled that Eller’s attorneys had introduced sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial.

“The court found that the alleged facts and the information as discovered throughout the case in the discovery process is sufficient to allow a jury to find whether Jennifer Eller was subjected to a hostile work environment and constructive discharge and retaliation unlawfully by the defendants,” Lambda Legal attorney Omar Gonzales-Pagan told the Blade at the time of the ruling in January.

“The settlement reached today is a meaningful result for our client, whose primary goal in bringing this suit was to ensure that no other individuals in the Prince George’s County Public Schools system endured the same treatment that she did,” said Arnold & Porter attorney Lori Leskin. “Our hope is that the policies and training protocols that have been and will be implemented will help foster a more inclusive and accepting environment for all LGBTQ+ individuals in the school system,” Leskin said.

ANNAPOLIS – State Del. Dan Cox (R-Frederick County) on Tuesday defeated former Labor and Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz in the Maryland Republican gubernatorial primary.

Cox, an anti-LGBTQ member of the Maryland House of Delegates who former President Donald Trump has endorsed, defeated Schulz, who Republican Gov. Larry Hogan backed, by a 56.2-40.3 percent margin.

Unofficial election results that include early voting and Election Day ballots indicate Wes Moore, former Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Pérez and Comptroller Peter Franchot are ahead in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. A state law does not allow the Maryland State Board of Elections to begin counting mail-in ballots until 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Congressman Anthony Brown on Tuesday defeated former Maryland first lady Katie Curran O’Malley in the Democratic primary for attorney general by a 59.6-40.4 percent margin. Brown will face former Anne Arundel County Council member Michael Peroutka in the general election.

“A heartfelt thank you to Maryland voters for putting their faith in me,” said Brown in a statement his campaign released early Wednesday. “Our campaign’s message has resonated with voters and tonight’s results prove it. An attorney general can either be a champion for progress or a defender of the status quo. I’m running for attorney general to dismantle barriers because the status quo isn’t working for Marylanders.”

State Del. Brooke Lierman (D-Baltimore City) will face off against Republican Harford County Executive Barry Glassman in the race to succeed Franchot as state comptroller.

Mizeur, Ivey win primaries

Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen on Tuesday easily won his primary, and is expected to win re-election in November.

Heather Mizeur easily defeated David Harden in the Democratic primary in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District that includes all of the state’s Eastern Shore. Mizeur, who was a member of the House of Delegates from 2007-2015, would be Maryland’s first openly lesbian member of Congress if she defeats Republican Congressman Andy Harris in November.

Former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey defeated former Congresswoman Donna Edwards by a 51.2-35.2 percent margin in the race to succeed Brown in the 4th Congressional District. Ivey will face off against Republican Jeff Warner in the general election.

Anti-LGBTQ state Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington County) won the Republican primary in the 6th Congressional District. The Washington County Republican will face off against Democratic Congressman David Trone in November.

“In his time in Annapolis, the main thing Neil Parrott has accomplished is building a reputation for ineffectiveness,” said Trone on Wednesday in an email to supporters. “He’s been named one of the least effective legislators in our state. Rather than getting results for his constituents, he’s focused on advocating for hate-filled policies — like requiring people with HIV to get tattoos, taking away rights from same-sex couples and more.” 

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who represents the 5th Congressional District, easily defeated his primary challenger. Congressmen Jamie Raskin, Kweisi Mfume, John Sarbanes and Dutch Ruppersberger also won their respective Democratic primaries on Tuesday.

“I am honored to have been selected by (Maryland’s 5th Congressional District) to be their nominee for Congress in the general election this November,” tweeted Hoyer on Wednesday. “As congressman I will continue working hard to bring resources and opportunities back to our district.”

I am honored to have been selected by #MD05 to be their nominee for Congress in the general election this November. As Congressman I will continue working hard to bring resources and opportunities back to our district. https://t.co/Xw0GCZ8uqE pic.twitter.com/7HowOpgIQm

— Steny Hoyer (@StenyHoyer) July 20, 2022

Gay, lesbian General Assembly incumbents, candidates ahead

State Del. Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery County), who is the House of Delegates’ first openly gay Afro-Latino member, is currently second among the four Democrats who are running in Legislative District 39. State Del. Lisa Belcastro (D-Baltimore County) is third among the three Democrats running in Legislative District 11B.

State Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) is second among the six Democratic primary candidates in Legislative District 46. State Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County) is currently second among four Democrats who are running in Legislative District 19.

State Del. Anne Kaiser (D-Montgomery County) is currently first among the five Democrats who are running in Legislative District 14.

Kris Fair is first among the seven Democratic primary candidates in Legislative District 3, while Joseph Vogel is currently third among the four candidates in his race in Legislative District 17. Ashanti Martinez is fourth among the six Democratic primary candidates in Legislative District 3.

The top three candidates in each race will advance to the general election.

State Sen. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City) on Tuesday was unopposed in Legislative District 43

SILVER SPRING, Md. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom on July 1 granted a pardon for an 82-year-old gay Maryland man for his conviction in Orange County, Calif. in 1967 on a charge of lewd conduct after he was caught having sex with another man in a car parked in a secluded area in Long Beach.

Newsom’s decision to approve a pardon for Henry Pachnowski, who currently lives in Silver Spring, Md., came after Pachnowski, with the help of his lawyer, submitted an application for the pardon last fall in which he explained the circumstances of his arrest more than 54 years ago.

“I engaged with consensual intimacy with a male partner in a deserted industrial area in his car and was caught by a security guard who said we had gone against ‘God and nature,’” Pachnowski stated in his pardon application form sent to the governor’s office.

“He turned us into the police, and I pleaded guilty to a lewdness charge in exchange for the dropping of a ‘sex perversion’ charge,” Pachnowski states in the application. “A pardon would not only recognize and remedy the injustice that I suffered from being targeted and convicted because of my sexuality, it would also ensure that I do not face any future obstacles, such as employment and housing-related ones, stemming from this conviction.”

The pardon granted by Newsom for Pachnowski was one of 17 gubernatorial executive pardons he issued on July 1, according to a statement released by his office. In his official declaration pardoning Pachnowski, Newsom explains the circumstances surrounding Pachnowski’s arrest and conviction and his reason for granting the pardon.

“On August 24, 1967, the Superior Court of California, County of Orange, sentenced Mr. Pachnowski to three years of probation and 10 days in jail for misdemeanor solicit lewd act,” Newsom states.

“Mr. Pachnowski was convicted and sentenced pursuant to a charge commonly used, and used in this case, to punish men for engaging in consensual adult sexual conduct with other men, criminalizing them based on stigma, bias, and ignorance,” he states in the pardon declaration. “With this act of executive clemency, I acknowledge the inherent injustice of the conviction,” Newsom states.

“By the laws of this state it is proper that I, as Governor of the State of California, give testimony that Mr. Pachnowski merits this pardon,” Newsom wrote in his declaration, adding that under California’s constitution and statutes he grants to Henry Pachnowski “a full and unconditional pardon for the above case.”

Pachnowski, who along with his parents, is a Nazi Holocaust survivor, said he applied for the pardon at the advice of his attorney, who had been helping him renew his permanent U.S. residence status after decades of uncertainty as a “stateless” person.

He told the Blade in an interview on Wednesday that he was born in Germany in 1940 after his parents, who are from Poland, were taken against their will to Germany following the Nazi takeover of Poland, where they were placed in a forced labor camp. After surviving the dangers in Nazi Germany during World War II, Pachnowski said he and his family remained in Germany until 1951 when they immigrated to the U.S.

But because he couldn’t claim citizenship legally from Poland or Germany, his decades of living in the U.S. have been marked with uncertainty, he said, from an immigration standpoint.

Jayesh Rathod, a professor with the Immigrant Justice Clinic at American University’s Washington College of Law, has been serving as Pachnowski’s attorney. Rathod told the Blade that after several years of interactions with U.S. immigration officials, Pachnowski was in the final stages of having his permanent U.S. residence status renewed and should be receiving his long sought Green Card.

Although a misdemeanor arrest like the one Pachnowski faced back in 1967 would not likely prompt immigration officials to deny his request for permanent residency, Rathod said he and others working on Pachnowski’s immigration case thought it would be best to seek a pardon for the conviction.

“We just wanted to get it off the record, both because of the immigration reason but also because we felt morally and legally it was an improper and unjust prosecution,” Rathod said.

“And I think it’s just great that the governor did this,” said Rathod. “It’s so important to kind of correct all these wrongs against the LGBTQ community,” he said. “Although it’s a relatively minor conviction, obviously it’s really significant for him and it’s important for the community.”

BALTIMORE – One month after a fire damaged multiple homes and hospitalized three people in North Baltimore’s Abell neighborhood, the investigation into the blaze remains ongoing.

The city of Baltimore and the Baltimore City Police Department are working with the FBI and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to investigate the fires. At this time, no person of interest has been named, and the fires, while determined to be intentionally set, have not yet been ruled a hate crime.

“In terms of the investigation, there were four fires that morning in the same area: a dumpster fire, a car fire, this fire, and one down the street. The house fire and the one down the street from it had Pride flags involved,” Council member Odette Ramos, who represents the Abell neighborhood, told the Blade. “What we do know is that they were all intentionally set. What we don’t know is if they are all related, and we don’t know yet if this is a hate crime. We really have the best of the best working on this … they are working diligently.”

As of last week, all three victims were out of the hospital and doing well, and according to Ramos, all the homeowners whose houses were damaged in the blaze have begun rebuilding.

“I’m grateful that they are digging in and ready to get back to the neighborhood,” she said. “The community came together to support the homeowners and raised about $15,000 at a recent fundraiser that I think the whole city attended … It was really nice to see.”

The Baltimore Peabody Heights Brewery hosted the fundraiser on June 23, with the goal of raising $5,000, and according to the Abell community Instagram, the fundraiser ended up raising $18,000 to go toward the homeowners’ rebuilding efforts.

Ramos said that investigators are also looking into potential links between the June 15 fire and other fires intentionally set in the same area a week or two prior. Although the clearance rate for arson is low — around 30% — Ramos said that the neighborhood has been proactive about sending in tips and that residents remain hopeful.

In response to the fires, many Abell residents are showing solidarity by displaying Pride flags, and part of the sidewalk was painted in rainbow colors.

“We don’t know that it was a hate crime, but for many members of our community, it really felt like it. And so, we have been really proud of our community — everybody has a Pride flag and everybody is making sure folks feel safe and welcomed,” Ramos said. “This neighborhood was one of the first neighborhoods to be welcoming to the LGBTQ community in Baltimore City, and we want to keep it that way.”