News
Same-sex marriage opponents disrupt French Open final
Protester carried torch onto court during match between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer

Same-sex marriage opponents on Sunday interrupted the men’s final of the French Open in Paris.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=P_a0W42TCqU
The French newspaper Le Monde reported a shirtless man wearing a white mask who had “the rights of children” written on his body ran onto the court holding a flare during the final match between Spanish tennis stars Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer. Four protesters also unfurled banners inside Roland Garros Stadium that criticized French President François Hollande and said in English that “with help, France ridicules the rights of children.”
“This kind of thing is regrettable but it has been taken care of remarkably by our security staff,” said tournament director Gilbert Ysern in a statement.
“It was a very quick moment,” said Nadal — who went on to win the match, and his eighth French Open title since 2005. “I felt a little bit scared at first because I didn’t see what was going on. I just saw a guy with some fire and I got a little scared at the first second. But then I saw it was one of these things that nobody can prevent.
“I want to thank very much all the security guys. They did amazing work. They were very courageous what they did so I just want to say thank you very much to them.”
Hommen, a group opposed to France’s same-sex marriage law that Hollande signed last month, also posted a picture onto its Twitter page that shows five shirtless men holding flairs and unfurling a banner from the top of the stadium that urged the French president to resign.
Police say they also detained six more demonstrators who were found at the neighboring court where the Legends tournament was taking place, according to Reuters.
The first gay couple to legally marry in France tied the knot in the city of Montpellier on May 29, but same-sex marriage supporters maintain rhetoric against the law has sparked anti-gay violence across the country.
France 24 on Sunday reported a skinhead who allegedly beat Clément Meric, an 18-year-old left-wing activist who campaigned for the country’s same-sex marriage law, to death outside a Paris subway station last week will face manslaughter charges. Opponents of nuptials for gays and lesbians routinely clashed with French authorities during protests in the weeks and months leading up to the National Assembly’s final approval of the same-sex marriage bill on April 23.
Police on May 26 arrested more than 200 people who clashed with police at the end of an anti-gay marriage march in Paris.
Charles Roncier, a gay blogger who is an assistant editor for the website VIH.org, told the Blade last week that La Manif Pour Tous and other same-sex marriage opponents are “out for blood” because “they lost the fight.”
“The political climate has definitely been altered by the months of homophobic protests,” he said. “We can say that far-right extremists feel more confident than ever to demonstrate, appear on [television] to spread their hate speech, especially after the tolerance the traditional… right-wing showed towards these extremists.”
World Pride 2025
D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride
Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.
In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.
Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.
According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.
The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.
Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.
At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.
It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.
Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
The Vatican
Executive director of LGBTQ Catholic group to travel to Rome for conclave
Marianne Duddy-Burke met Pope Francis in 2023

The executive director of a group that represents LGBTQ Catholics will travel to Rome next week for the papal conclave that starts on May 7.
DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke on Thursday told the Washington Blade she will arrive in Rome on May 6. Duddy-Burke said she plans to spend time in St. Peter’s Square “and have conversations with people.”
“I will wear Dignity insignia, have rainbow flags,” she said.
Pope Francis died on April 21. His funeral took place five days later.
The Vatican’s tone on LGBTQ and intersex issues softened under the Argentine-born pope’s papacy, even though church teachings on homosexuality did not change.
Francis, among other things, described laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations as “unjust” and supported civil unions for gays and lesbians. Transgender people were among those who greeted Francis’s coffin at Rome’s St. Mary Major Basilica before his burial on April 26.
Duddy-Burke and two others from the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics met with Francis in October 2023 during a meeting that focused on the Catholic Church’s future. Duddy-Burke noted Francis “invited” her and her colleagues as his “special guests for the audience and then had a conversation with him afterwards.”
“For me the sort of visibility that he (Francis) brought to our community and to our concerns feels irreversible,” said Duddy-Burke. “He empowered so many people and so many new ministries.”
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu — the archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo who has described homosexuality as an “abomination” — is among the cardinals who are reportedly in the running to succeed Francis.
“I really don’t know,” said Duddy-Burke when the Blade asked her who the next pope will be. “Of course, I am hoping and praying hard that it will be someone who will continue to lead the church on responsiveness of human need and greater inclusivity.”
“What happens in that room is such a mystery,” she added.
World Pride 2025
Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference
Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.
Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)
A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.
The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.
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