The What, When and Who of 2013
The Year in Review 2013
SEPTEMBER
While falling short of calling for a boycott or new venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Russia, President Obama followed up his condemnation of Russia’s new anti-LGBT law by meeting with LGBT activists Sept. 6 during his visit to St. Petersburg for the G-20 summit.
Back in D.C., Floyd Lee Corkins, the 29-year-old gay Virginian who pleaded guilty to the nonfatal shooting of a security guard at the headquarters of the anti-LGBT Family Research Council, was sentenced Sept. 19 to 25 years in jail. For HOPE DC, aka HOPE Foundation (Health Options and Positive Energy Foundation), 25 years held a different significance as the organization marked its 25th anniversary with a Sept. 21 celebration. ”We celebrate the dramatic medical breakthroughs that have turned HIV into a manageable condition, but we are deeply aware of the social challenges of living well and responsibly with HIV,” said Jim Garza, vice president of the HOPE Foundation, in announcing the anniversary. Marking its first-ever celebration, local bisexuals launched Bisexual Pride Day on Sept. 23.
There was also far more somber celebration — a celebration of Barrett Brick’s life — following the longtime activist’s death on Sept. 22, survived by his husband, Antonio Ruffini, of South Africa. With interests in a variety of fields, Brick, who died of cancer at age 59, had served as president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C.; president of D.C. Bet Mishpachah congregation for LGBT Jews; and was recognized by the Rainbow History Project aa a ”Community Pioneer,” along with many other distinctions.
September also gave the LGBT community a powerful first, as the Senate on Sept. 24 confirmed Todd Hughes as the nation’s first openly gay federal appeals court judge.
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