National
New GOP chair backs ban on same-sex marriage
Log Cabin is hopeful Priebus will support ‘big tent’ policy
Reince Priebus of Wisconsin was elected the new RNC chair. He has supported the GOP platform language opposing same-sex marriage and also supported a ban on civil unions. (Photo courtesy of Wisconsin GOP)
The head of Log Cabin Republicans said he is hopeful that the newly elected chair of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus of Wisconsin, would maintain cordial relations with LGBT Republicans, even though Priebus supports a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Priebus, 38, chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party, defeated controversial RNC Chair Michael Steele and four other candidates in a hotly contested race for the RNC leadership post at an RNC meeting in suburban Maryland on Jan. 14.
In a Jan. 3 debate at the National Press Club in Washington, Priebus, Steele and the three other candidates for the RNC chair position each said they believe marriage should be restricted to a union between a man and a woman.
“I don’t believe that judges can rewrite the Constitution and redraft what marriage is,” Priebus said during the debate. “I think…there’s a sanctity of marriage…I believe my kids and believe children should grow up with one father and a mother if possible,” he said.
He then added, “I don’t believe anybody should be denied dignity in this discussion, everyone should be loved. But at the end of the day, I believe that marriage, through the sanctity of marriage, should be between one man and one woman.”
In an earlier interview broadcast on YouTube with Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, the leading group opposing same-sex marriage, Priebus said he supports the Republican Party platform position on marriage, which calls for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
He also noted in his interview with Gallagher, which took place shortly after he entered the race for RNC chair, that he was a strong advocate for the Wisconsin state constitutional amendment banning both same-sex marriage and civil unions. Voters in the state approved that amendment in 2006.
“I was a part of that,” he said. “I was helpful to make sure that that happened…It’s an important issue because I believe marriage is a gift from God and the sanctity of marriage ought to be protected,” he told Gallagher.
“I believe the Defense of Marriage Act is important,” he continued in the interview. And it’s something that certainly as chairman of the Republican National Committee that we ought to be committed to.”
In marked contrast, the Democratic Party platform expresses opposition to both a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which it calls for repealing.
DOMA, which Congress passed in 1996, defines marriage under federal law as a union only between a man and a woman. The law prevents same-sex couples married in states that have legalized such unions from receiving any federal benefits or rights related to marriage.
The GOP platform also recognizes “the incompatibility of homosexuality with military service” while the Democratic platform called for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.
The subject of gays in the military did not come up in the debate among RNC chair candidates or in Gallagher’s interview with Priebus. But in discussing the GOP platform, Priebus told Gallagher, “I have no beef with any part of that platform that’s set forth within the Republican National Committee.”
R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, joined other GOP leaders in releasing a statement on the day Priebus was elected RNC chair calling for party unity and inclusion.
“As Chairman Priebus stated, ‘we must come together over common interests. We must unite,’” Cooper said in his statement.
“I look forward to continuing our successful partnership with the Republican National Committee, and urge Chairman Priebus to continue the Committee’s strong record of coalition-building, which was an important part of GOP success in 2010,” he said.
Cooper said Log Cabin did not take sides in the RNC chair race. He said he personally supported one of the candidates but declined to say which one.
GOProud, a national organization representing “gay conservatives and their allies,” called Priebus’ election as party chair “a good day for conservatives and for the Republican Party.”
Christopher Barron, chair of GOProud’s board, said the group worked hard for Steele’s defeat but did not say if it backed another candidate. GOProud was among a number of conservative groups that criticized Steele for making a statement last year saying the U.S. could not achieve its objectives in the war in Afghanistan.
“Michael Steel’s tenure as chairman can only fairly be characterized as an unmitigated disaster,” Barron said “Were it not for the hard work of outside groups, who were forced to step in to fill the void left by an ineffective RNC, success at the ballot box in November would not have happened.
Robert Kabel, the gay chair of the D.C. Republican Committee, had a far different view on Steele, saying the now ex-GOP chair did an overall good job.
Kabel said he backed Steele’s re-election bid, saying Steele was “highly supportive” of the D.C. Republican Party and of Kabel’s role as the nation’s only out gay leader of a state or local Republican Party committee.
Kabel, who is a member of the RNC, said he voted for former RNC official Maria Cino, another of the candidates competing for the chair post, when Steele dropped out of the race after trailing Priebus in the fourth round of voting.
Cooper noted that Steele had welcomed Log Cabin and gay Republicans in general into the RNC’s fold during his two-year tenure as RNC chair and hired at least one out gay staffer to work at the RNC’s Coalitions Department, which reached out to Republican constituency groups like College Republicans, Young Republicans, and Log Cabin.
Kabel, who like Cooper, declined to identify the gay staffer, said the staffer is among nearly a dozen RNC staff members that Priebus fired or who resigned during his first week in office.
Both said the firings and resignations were part of the normal personnel changes that take place whenever a new party chair takes office.
The Hill newspaper reported that Priebus dismissed most of the staff that had been hired by Steele to work on the 2012 Republican National Convention.
“They recognized the gay community, they were very open to Log Cabin and they were really delighted when Clarke Cooper was finally selected as the new Log Cabin director,” Kabel said of the RNC Coalitions Department under Steele’s tenure.
Cooper said he could not say for sure but he expected Priebus to keep the Coalitions Department in place, although he said the new party chair might rename it or change its place within the RNC structure.
A staff member with the RNC’s press office, who identified himself only as Michael, said he would seek to obtain a response to a Blade inquiry about Priebus’ plans for the Coalitions Department and its interaction with Log Cabin. The staffer did not get back by press time.
Priebus led in the balloting in a protracted election in which the 168-member RNC was unable to deliver the 85 votes needed to elect a chair until Priebus finally obtained 97 votes on the seventh round of voting.
In addition to Steele, the other candidates in the race were Cino, a former Bush administration official who had been friendly to Log Cabin; Ann Wagner of Missouri; and Saul Anuzis of Michigan.
In a related development, on the same day Priebus won his race for RNC chair, the RNC elected D.C. resident and longtime Republican activist Tony Parker as RNC treasurer, which is considered the second most important post at the RNC. Parker has held the position of Republican National Committeeman from D.C. His views on LGBT issues could not be immediately determined.
On Jan. 6, the D.C. Republican Committee voted unanimously to re-elect Kabel as chair for another two-year term.
Wyoming
U.S. attorney nominee confirmed despite anti-LGBTQ history, no trial experience
Nine felony grand jury indictments tied to Darin Smith dismissed last week
Republicans confirmed Darin Smith as U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming on Monday, regardless of his history as interim U.S. Attorney for Wyoming and a state senator.
While serving as interim U.S. Attorney for Wyoming — after being appointed by President Donald Trump last July despite never trying a case outside of his time as a law student intern — former state Sen. Darin Smith likely prejudiced jurors during grand jury proceedings.
Nine felony grand jury indictments tied to Smith’s tenure were dismissed last week.
Judges dismissed felony indictments against Cheyenne Swett, Richard Allen, Michael Scott Hopper, Brian Joseph Johnson, Dennison Jay Antelope, Matthew Christopher Jacoby, Matthew Miller Jr., Wolf Elkins Duran, and Jose Benito Ocon. The now-dismissed charges included felony firearm possession, drug distribution, and possession of child pornography, among other allegations.
Smith allegedly told the grand jury that the defendants were “bad guys,” described them as “murderers,” and said deliberations “won’t take long.”
Even the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming acknowledged that Smith’s comments were “ill-advised.”
Smith has a history of aligning with Trump over the Constitution and supporting anti-LGBTQ legislation.
In 2025, Smith co-sponsored House Bill 0194, titled “Obscenity amendments,” which, among other provisions, would have criminalized drag shows. The bill also would have repealed exemptions for public and school librarians from the crime of “promoting obscenity” to minors. The wording of the bill was so vague that Republican state Rep. Lee Filer said, “We will end up having to arrest somebody for allowing a child to read the Holy Bible.”
Smith also co-sponsored SF0062, a bill requiring public school students to use restrooms, sex-designated changing facilities, and sleeping quarters that align with their sex assigned at birth. In March 2025, the Wyoming governor signed the bill into law, along with its House companion.
He also attended the Jan. 6 Capitol riot alongside thousands of other Trump supporters.
“Smith was on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6 … and made the reprehensible claim … that the hundreds of Capitol Police officers who risked their lives that day were guilty of ‘massive incompetence.’ Smith blames the police for what happened on Jan. 6. Without evidence, he claimed that rioters who breached the Capitol were victims of entrapment,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said. “Moreover, Smith is not remotely qualified to be a U.S. Attorney. He’s going to be in the package — take it or leave it. Prior to becoming the interim U.S. Attorney, he had no courtroom or litigation experience whatsoever. None. And Smith’s lack of experience has had real-world consequences.”
Prior to his work in the Wyoming state legislature, Smith worked as Director of Planned Giving for the Family Research Council, an organization that describes homosexuality as “harmful” to society with “negative physical and psychological health effects.”
The organization also believes that sexual orientation “should [not] be included as a protected category in nondiscrimination laws or policies, as it is not comparable to inborn, immutable characteristics such as race or sex.”
During questioning before the U.S. Senate, he denied that his work with the organization shows he has loss of impartiality when it comes to matters of LGBTQ rights.
Also questioning, Smith was asked about a now-deleted Facebook post in which he appeared to express support for Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who was found to be unconstitutional in her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses, despite Obergefell v. Hodges.
“Perhaps Hillary and Obama can share the cell with Kim Davis for refusing to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act,” the post said.
When asked why he posted it, Smith told Durbin: “I do not recall.”
Josh Sorbe, spokesperson for the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats and Durbin, said:
“Anti-LGBTQ+ extremist Darin Smith has no business serving as a top law enforcement officer in any state — let alone a state with as much history of queer importance as Wyoming. He’s an unqualified insurrectionist with no experience litigating criminal or federal matters, and his bigotry puts into serious question his commitment to upholding the law for all Americans.”
Human Rights Campaign Vice President of Government Affairs David Stacy also condemned Smith’s confirmation to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
“The justice system in America is supposed to be about ensuring the law is applied fairly and equally. But Darin Smith has spent his career obsessed with making life worse for LGBTQ+ people, opposing marriage equality, cosponsoring state legislation targeting transgender youth, and smearing LGBTQ+ people in public statements,” Stacy said. “Just over two decades after Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in that same state, Wyoming deserves better than tired anti-LGBTQ+ hate at the helm of federal law enforcement. The Senate should reject Darin Smith and demand a nominee who will put the people — and justice — first.”
Vermont
Vt. lawmaker equates transgender identity with bestiality
Vermont Democrats condemned comments, demanded apology
State Sen. Steven Heffernan (R-Addison) equated transgender people to bestiality on the Vermont Senate floor on May 15 while debating an animal cruelty bill.
Heffernan, who was elected in 2024 to the state Senate, constructed a scenario in which a trans person is indistinguishable from someone committing bestiality.
“In these crazy times, what happens if the individual identifies as an animal having intercourse with an animal? How is the courts going to handle that?” the former member of the Vermont Air National Guard said while debating House Bill 578. “Being that we voted through Prop Four, and if it does make it through this state, and I have a gender identity that I identify as a dog and had sex with my dog, is this law going to affect me?”
State Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky (D-Chittenden Central), who presented H. 578 responded professionally.
“The bill that we are putting forward in the current law is quite clear that any act between a person and an animal that involves contact with the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the person, and the mouth, sex organ, or anus of the animal, without a bona fide veterinary purpose, will be a crime.”
In the video, Heffernan continued to ask inappropriate questions — questions that Vyhovsky answered.
“If I identify as that animal, will this be able to … It says a person. I’m not a person. I’m identifying as this animal I’m having intercourse with,” he said. “We are identifying genders, of whatever gender we decide we want to be, and I think I like this bill. I’m going to vote for this bill, but I want to make this chamber aware of what’s coming.”
Vyhovsky made a statement saying this was a planned move in an attempt to “other” trans Vermonters instead of protecting them.
“Senator Heffernan knew exactly what he was doing,” said Vyhovsky. “Sen. Heffernan is using the same dehumanizing playbook that has been used against LGBTQ+ people for generations — the false, ugly suggestion that queer and trans identity is synonymous with deviance and harm. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.”
This derogatory action at the expense of trans people appears to be part of a pattern of behavior from Heffernan in his official capacity.
In March, Heffernan left the floor right before lawmakers voted on Proposal 4, conveniently missing the bill vote. PR 4, if passed by the state’s voters in the fall, would amend the state constitution to enshrine protections against unjust treatment, including discrimination based on a “person’s race, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or national origin.”
Heffernan told VTDigger at the time that he left because his stomach was feeling “agitated” and he needed to use the restroom. He said he had not made up his mind on how to vote on the amendment, largely because he’d heard from constituents urging him both to vote for and against it.
“My pizza hit at the right time, I guess,” he said, calling the timing “convenient.”
Despite his leaving — and being the only lawmaker to do so — the state Senate voted to pass it 29-0, with Heffernan marked “absent.” This came after the state House of Representatives voted to pass it 128-14 last week.
Vermont Senate Democrats condemned the statement and used the opportunity to emphasize the need for the state to pass PR 4 on Nov. 4.
“In the wake of Sen. Heffernan’s comments, the stakes of this election couldn’t be more clear,” the statement provided to the Washington Blade read. “Transgender and nonbinary Vermonters are our neighbors, our friends, and our family members. On Friday, Sen. Heffernan used his platform as an elected official representing the people of Vermont to dehumanize them. Senate Democrats will never stop fighting for dignity for all Vermonters. We demand Senator Heffernan apologize to those he has harmed with his words and actions.”
State Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale (D-Chittenden Southeast), speaking in her capacity as chair of the Senate Ethics Panel, responded to similar transphobic comments made by President Donald Trump in a White House counterterrorism strategy document last week, in which he said those with “extreme transgender ideologies” should know “we will find you and we will kill you,” stating:
“A lot of people are living in fear in this country because of what somebody with the power of the pen and the power of the military is saying every day,” Hinsdale said. “Just because [speech] is protected does not mean it is worthy of this institution, and does not mean it is worthy of the office we hold and the power that we wield in the lives of Vermonters.”
The Blade reached out to Heffernan for comment but has not heard back.
Former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) died on Tuesday. He was 86.
The Massachusetts Democrat served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981-2013. Frank in 1987 became the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay.
The Washington Blade earlier this month interviewed Frank after he entered hospice care at his Ogunquit, Maine, home where he lived with his husband, Jim Ready, since 2013. The former congressman, among other things, talked about his new book, “The Hard Path to Unity: Why We Must Reform the Left to Rescue Democracy.”
The book is scheduled for release on Sept. 15.
NBC Boston reported Frank’s sister, Ann Lewis, and a close family friend confirmed his death.
The Blade will update this article.
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