News
Trend watch: gay Republicans for Congress
Innis seeks N.H. House seat in ‘historic’ year for GOP
Dan Innis is running for Congress in New Hampshire (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key).
The New Hampshire Republican is one of three openly gay Republicans running in the congressional mid-terms along with Richard Tisei in Massachusetts and Carl DeMaio in San Diego.
The significance of the triumvirate of gay GOPers running for Congress at the same time isn’t lost on Innis, who spoke with the Washington Blade during a trip to D.C. last week between meetings on K Street.
“I think it’s an indicator of how far we have moved as a nation because 10 years ago, this wouldn’t be happening,” Innis said. “And we have really come a long way, and I think we will continue to move along this path. To me, it’s a real statement about our continued push for full equality.”
But it’s the Republican aspect of Innis’ candidacy that’s at the forefront of his mind as he seeks to oust incumbent Democrat Rep. Carol Shea-Porter from her seat representing New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district.
During his tenure since 2007 as dean of the College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire, Innis said the young people with whom he works don’t see the world in the same way as he did when he was younger.
“I’ve been working with young people for 23 years in higher education,” Innis said. “I have three kids of my own, 13, 20 and 22. And the way that they see the world today is different from the way that I saw it. They don’t feel the same level of freedom, they don’t feel the same opportunities, they don’t feel that their future is as bright as I felt mine was.”
For Innis, the downward shift has its roots in Washington, and it’s time for New Hampshire to send representatives to Congress “who are not career politicians, who can help to turn things back around, and bring back that sense of optimism about the future.”
Innis earlier this month won an endorsement from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, which has also endorsed Tisei in his bids for Congress. The Victory Fund has yet to endorse DeMaio.
“Dan Innis is a sensible and visionary leader, two qualities New Hampshire constituents deserve in a representative,” said Torey Carter, chief operating officer at the Victory Fund. “His unique combination of corporate and academic backgrounds has allowed him to address issues that affect others with careful consideration.”
Innis said he hasn’t sought an endorsement from the Human Rights Campaign. The Log Cabin Republicans are prohibited from making endorsements in the primary.
Even with the Victory Fund endorsement, the New Hampshire Republican said he doesn’t see LGBT issues as a priority for him if elected as much as the advancement of equality in general.
“I think, for me, it’s about equality for all, and those are the issues that I’ll always champion, so any issue that relates to equality — whether it’s related to gender, race, sexual orientation — those are values that I think all Americans hold, and those are things that I would always fight for,” Innis said. “It’s a broad-based equality mission for me.”
But among the pieces of legislation at the top of his list is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that has languished in Congress for years that would prohibit bias against LGBT people in the workforce.
“It’s time that that come up for a vote, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t,” Innis said. “We’ve seen support for that on the Senate side, New Hampshire senators both supported it, Republican and Democrat, and I’m proud of that. And I believe the House will do the right thing.”
The legislation passed in the Senate late last year on a bipartisan vote of 64-32, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he opposes it and it hasn’t yet come up for a vote in the Republican-controlled chamber.
Even though his vote first in Congress would be for Republican leadership, Innis said he sees the ability for LGBT legislation to advance under a GOP-controlled House because he’d bring a different voice to the caucus.
“When they’re not there with you, you don’t see it the same way,” Innis said. “The minute I’m sitting down next to John Boehner or somebody else, I’m there, and that bill affects me, and that affects how they perceive that bill, and I think it will really change the way the Republican Party will move forward.”
Innis isn’t alone in his bid for the Republican nomination. Also running is Frank Guinta, a former member of the U.S. House who defeated Shea-Porter in 2010, but lost to her in the 2012 election. The primary is Sept. 9.
A recent WMUR Granite State Poll showed Guinta ahead of Shea-Porter, but Innis behind her. He attributed that discrepancy to name recognition, saying that would change as the campaign gets underway and Super PACs come to his aid.
Although significant gains for LGBT equality have been made under the Obama administration, Innis insisted credit for progress should be given to all who contributed.
“You know, we’ve seen previous presidents, the one before Obama, put an awful lot of money into AIDS research,” Innis said, “And I think that deserves credit. George W. Bush was phenomenal on that. He deserves credit. Any leader who’s taken a stand on these issues deserves credit regardless of party. To me, this is not a partisan issue; this is a human issue.”
Despite his support for LGBT rights, Innis stopped short of endorsing the idea of an executive order barring LGBT workplace bias against federal contractors. No Republican lawmaker or candidate has yet to endorse the order.
“I have some issues with executive orders,” Innis said. “I’m not a big fan of executive orders generally speaking, and I will say I haven’t given this one an awful lot of thought, but I think equality is always a good thing.”
Asked whether he was leaning in favor of supporting the executive order, Innis said he’d like to see an end to LGBT discrimination “done in a more open and participative way.”
Coming from a state where same-sex marriage was made legal in 2009 through the legislative process, Innis had a role in helping resist an effort from a Republican supermajority in the legislature to repeal the statute.
Innis acknowledged he didn’t have an active role in the legalization of same-sex marriage at that time because he had recently come out as gay and was still in his position at the university, but said he lent his voice as a Republican when the law was under threat.
“I guess I was on a brochure that went to all the legislators with my story,” Innis said. “I gave a couple of talks, some things in newspapers, and really I think represented equality in the state in that battle. It became very visible for me. I was featured in the Portsmith Herald on the front page the day after. It was a little more public than I wanted to be, but so be it.”
Innis said he faced criticism for his role in convincing the Republicans to drop efforts to repeal the law, but wouldn’t identify who was unhappy with him.
“I think it’s important to note that that was a Republican legislature that had a veto-proof majority in both houses. Think about that and equality was supported,” Innis said. “That’s New Hampshire. And we believe in equality and freedom for all.”
Innis said he hasn’t yet spoken to the other two gay Republican candidates running for Congress, but said he expects to talk to them soon. He’s also not a member of the joint fundraising committee formed by Tisei and DeMaio called the Equality Leadership Fund. Innis said he’s aware of the fund but remains focused on his campaign.
It should be noted all three openly gay Republicans seeking seats in the U.S. House are trying to oust incumbent Democrats.
Ray Buckley, who’s gay and chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, said Shea-Porter is the best candidate because New Hampshire voters expect elected officials “to stand up against injustice and support families of all varieties.”
“Instead, Dan Innis failed to fight for LGBT rights in New Hampshire as the legislature debated marriage equality,” Buckley said. “He failed them again during the fight for the Employee Non-Discrimination Act, in which strong Republican voices could have helped turn the tide, ending the ability to discriminate against someone in the workplace for simply being who they are. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Shea-Porter has consistently been on the right side of history, defending LGBT families and advancing civil rights. Dan Innis is the wrong candidate for families of all kinds in the state of New Hampshire.”
But Innis insisted that he’s the right candidate for the LGBT community because, unlike Shea-Porter, he’s lived the experience of being openly gay.
“I live it and understand it more thoroughly than she ever will. I’m LGBT; Carol Shea-Porter is not,” Innis said. “And though I appreciate her support of the community, I think the support coming from me is genuine and it’s part of me.”
It’s the new voices the gay Republican candidates are bringing to the fore that Innis said are making the campaigns valuable in and of themselves.
“I think we have three historic races,” Innis said. “Races that wouldn’t have taken place not that many years ago. And I think that in and of itself adds value for our community, and if we’re going to move equality forward, we’ve got to do it in every way possible – Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, independent, doesn’t matter — I think that if one or all of us wins, we’re that much closer to equality.”
CORRECTION: An initial version of this article incorrectly stated the Victory Fund endorsed Carl DeMaio. The Blade regrets the error.
The White House
Empty seats, canceled shows plague Kennedy Center ahead of Trump renaming
It would take an act of Congress to officially rename the historic music venue, despite the Trump-appointed board’s decision.
The board of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., voted to rename it the Trump-Kennedy Center, according to the White House Press Office.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the decision in a post on X Thursday, thanking the president for his work on the cultural center “not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation.”
Speaking to reporters later that day at the White House, Trump said he was “surprised” and “honored” by the board’s vote.
“This was brought up by one of the very distinguished board members, and they voted on it, and there’s a lot of board members, and they voted unanimously. So I was very honored,” he said.
Earlier this year, GOP Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho introduced an amendment that would have renamed the building after first lady Melania Trump, later saying she had not been aware of his efforts prior to the amendment’s public introduction.
Despite the board’s vote (made up of Trump-appointed loyalists), the original laws guiding the creation of the Kennedy Center during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations explicitly prohibit renaming the building. Any change to its name would require an act of Congress.
Trump has exerted increasing control over the center in recent months. In February, he abruptly fired members of the Kennedy Center’s board and installed himself as chair, writing in a Truth Social post at the time, “At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN.”
In that post, Trump specifically cited his disapproval of the center’s decision to host drag shows.
He later secured more than $250 million from the Republican-controlled Congress for renovations to the building.
Since Trump’s takeover, sales of subscription packages are said to have declined, and several touring productions — including “Hamilton” — have canceled planned runs at the venue. Rows of empty seats have also been visible in the Concert Hall during performances by the National Symphony Orchestra.
“The Kennedy Center Board has no authority to actually rename the Kennedy Center in the absence of legislative action,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.
For decades, the Kennedy Center has hosted performances by LGBTQ artists and companies, including openly queer musicians, choreographers, and playwrights whose work helped push LGBTQ stories into the cultural mainstream. Those artists include the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, Harvey Fierstein, and Tennessee Williams.
In more recent years, the center has increasingly served as a space for LGBTQ visibility and acceptance, particularly through Pride-adjacent programming and partnerships.
That legacy was on display at this year’s opening production of Les Misérables, when four drag performers — Tara Hoot, Vagenesis, Mari Con Carne, and King Ricky Rosé — attended in representation of Qommittee, a volunteer network uniting drag artists to support and defend one another amid growing conservative attacks.
“We walked in together so we would have an opportunity to get a response,” said Tara Hoot, who has performed at the Kennedy Center in full drag before. “It was all applause, cheers, and whistles, and remarkably it was half empty. I think that was season ticket holders kind of making their message in a different way.”
The creation of the Kennedy Center is outlined in U.S. Code, which formally designates the institution as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
As a result, it appears unlikely that Congress will come together to pass legislation allowing the historic venue to be renamed.
District of Columbia
New queer bar Rush beset by troubles; liquor license suspended
Staff claim they haven’t been paid, turn to GoFundMe as holidays approach
The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board on Dec. 17 issued an order suspending the liquor license for the recently opened LGBTQ bar and nightclub Rush on grounds that it failed to pay a required annual licensing fee.
Rush held its grand opening on Dec. 5 on the second and third floors of a building at 2001 14 Street, N.W., with its entrance around the corner on U Street next to the existing LGBTQ dance club Bunker.
It describes itself on its website as offering “art-pop aesthetics, high-energy nights” in a space that “celebrates queer culture without holding back.” It includes a large dance floor and a lounge area with sofas and chairs.
Jackson Mosley, Rush’s principal owner, did not immediately respond to a phone message from the Washington Blade seeking his comment on the license suspension.
The ABC Board’s order states, “The basis for this Order is that a review of the Board’s official records by the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) has determined that the Respondent’s renewal payment check was returned unpaid and alternative payment was not submitted.”
The three-page order adds, “Notwithstanding ABCA’s efforts to notify the Respondent of the renewal payment check return, the Respondent failed to pay the license fee for the period of 2025 to 2026 for its Retailer’s Class CT license. Therefore, the Respondent’s license has been SUSPENDED until the Respondent pays the license fees and the $50.00 per day fine imposed by the Board for late payment.”
ABCA spokesperson Mary McNamara told the Blade that the check from Rush that was returned without payment was for $12,687, which she said was based on Rush’s decision to pay the license fee for four years. She said that for Rush to get its liquor license reinstated it must now pay $3,819 for a one-year license fee plus a $100 bounced check fee, a $750 late fee, and $230 transfer fee, at a total of $4,919 due.
Under D.C. law, bars, restaurants and other businesses that normally serve alcoholic beverages can remain open without a city liquor license as long as they do not sell or serve alcohol.
But D.C. drag performer John Marsh, who performs under the name Cake Pop and who is among the Rush employees, said Rush did not open on Wednesday, Dec. 17, the day the liquor board order was issued. He said that when it first opened, Rush limited its operating days from Wednesday through Sunday and was not open Mondays and Tuesdays.
Marsh also said none of the Rush employees received what was to be their first monthly salary payment on Dec. 15. He said approximately 20 employees set up a GoFundMe fundraising site to raise money to help sustain them during the holiday period after assuming they will not be paid.
He said he doubted that any of the employees would return to work in the unlikely case that Mosley would attempt to reopen Rush without serving liquor or if he were to pay the licensing fee to allow him to resume serving alcohol without having received their salary payment.
As if all that were not enough, Mosley would be facing yet another less serious problem related to the Rush policy of not accepting cash payments from customers and only accepting credit card payments. A D.C. law that went into effect Jan. 1, 2025, prohibits retail businesses such as restaurants and bars from not accepting cash payments.
A spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, which is in charge of enforcing that law, couldn’t immediately be reached to determine what the penalty is for a violation of the law requiring that type of business to accept cash payments.
The employee GoFundMe site, which includes messages from several of the employees, can be accessed here.
Malaysia
Malaysian police raids spark renewed concern among LGBTQ activists
202 people arrested at men-only venues in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 28
In the weeks since a Nov. 28 police raid on men-only venues in Kuala Lumpur, queer activists in Malaysia say they have stepped up efforts to coordinate legal assistance for people detained under state Shariah laws.
Justice for Sisters, Pelangi, and other groups have been providing legal referrals, court monitoring, and emergency support following the arrests, as advocates warn that enforcement targeting LGBTQ communities has intensified.
In Malaysia, a Muslim-majority but multi-ethnic and multi-faith country, consensual same-sex sexual conduct is criminalized under both civil and Islamic law. The federal penal code bans “carnal intercourse against the order of nature,” a provision that applies nationwide, while state-level Shariah laws governing Muslims prohibit same-sex relations and gender nonconformity, including cross-dressing. Together, the dual-track legal system allows authorities to pursue LGBTQ people under parallel civil and religious statutes.
According to Justice for Sisters, 202 people — including venue owners, staff, and customers — were arrested and detained overnight. The organization in a statement said detainees were repeatedly denied access to legal counsel and communication with family members, and that their identities and images were exposed publicly — actions it said led to humiliation and, in some cases, job losses.
According to testimonies collected by Justice for Sisters and several other NGOs, detainees reported multiple procedural violations during the legal process. In a document the group published, detainees said they were not informed of the charges against them, were denied access to legal counsel, and phone communication for hours, and, in the case of foreign nationals, were not given access to embassies or translators. The document also described interrogations that included intrusive questions about sexual practices and orientation, as well as detention conditions in which detainees were repeatedly ordered to sit, stand, and recline without explanation and transported in overcrowded vehicles, with 30 to 40 people placed in trucks designed for far fewer passengers.
Detainees also reported being subjected to degrading treatment while in custody.
Accounts said detainees were denied access to toilets for extended periods and instructed to urinate into bottles, which were later thrown at them. Some detainees said officers suggested using rubber bands to restrict urination. Detainees also said authorities kept them awake overnight and repeatedly ordered them to sit upright or monitor others to prevent them from sleeping.
“We call on the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) and the Ministry of Health (KKM) to immediately launch an independent and unbiased assessment and investigation into the actions of the agencies involved during the raid, detention, and subsequent procedures, after the court rejected the remand extension request on Nov. 29, 2025,” Justice for Sisters said in a statement. “This raid has had a serious impact on public health. Many individuals reported heightened mental distress, including suicidal thoughts and severe psychological stress, affecting their ability to carry out daily activities such as eating, working, sleeping, and accessing medical treatment. When safe-sex tools such as condoms or pre-exposure prophylaxis are used to imply criminal activity, it directly undermines progress in the country’s public health response.”
Justice for Sisters also said law enforcement officers must conduct investigations professionally and fairly, while upholding the presumption that detainees are innocent until proven guilty. The organization in a statement said police must carry out their duties in a manner that preserves public trust and confidence in the justice system.
Rights groups say enforcement actions against LGBTQ gatherings in Malaysia have not been limited to the capital.
In June 2025, police in the northeastern state of Kelantan raided a private rented property described by authorities as a “gay party,” arresting 20 men, according to state police statements.
According to Reuters, Malaysian law enforcement authorities said they would review their procedures following the November raid. The report cited Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Fadil Marsus as saying that 171 Malaysian nationals were released from custody after authorities found no evidence to prosecute them.
The Washington Blade reached out to the Royal Malaysia Police for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
“We do not want a situation where raids and arrests are carried out but, in the end, the evidence is inadmissible,” Marsus said, according to Reuters.
As of Dec. 1, all but one of the 37 foreign nationals detained in the raid had been released, with the remaining person held on an immigration-related matter, according to Reuters. Authorities have not publicly disclosed whether they remain in custody.
Empty seats, canceled shows plague Kennedy Center ahead of Trump renaming
New queer bar Rush beset by troubles; liquor license suspended
Malaysian police raids spark renewed concern among LGBTQ activists
HHS to restrict gender-affirming care for minors
Candidates should pledge to nominate LGBTQ judge to Supreme Court
LGBTQ Democrats say they’re ready to fight to win in 2026
Brian Footer suspends campaign for Ward 1 D.C. Council seat
Far-right José Antonio Kast elected Chile’s next president
In real estate, trust the process
