News
Kavanaugh shifts to Masterpiece when queried on gay marriage ruling
Brett Kavanaugh refused to say he supports the Obergefell decision. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh shifted to the ruling in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case — which came down in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a custom-made wedding cake for a same-sex couple — when asked Thursday whether he supports the historic ruling for same-sex marriage nationwide.
Under questioning from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Kavanaugh refused to say whether he thinks the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges was correctly decided.
Kavanaugh cited a practice of nominees to refuse to comment on personal views or precedent set by the high court. That’s consistent with his responses to questions on other decisions, including Roe v. Wade.
Instead, Kavanaugh referenced five cases on LGBT rights written by former Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose seat he’d occupy on the high court, counting among them the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision narrowly in favor of Jack Phillips.
As Kavanaugh proceeded to enumerate the rulings, Harris interrupted and said “if we could just talk about Obergefell, that would be great,” redirecting the nominee to address Obergefell. But Kavanaugh noted each of the decisions, the 1996 ruling in Romer v. Evans, the 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, the 2013 decision in Windsor v. United States, the 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, and the 2017 decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
Kavanaugh said he wanted to read a statement from Masterpiece Cakeshop, but Harris insisted he address the Obergefell decision, calling it a “yes or no” question. Nonetheless, Kavanaugh pressed forward with the statement from the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision.
“In Masterpiece Cakeshop, and this is, I think, relevant to your question, Justice Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion joined by Chief Justice [John] Roberts and Justice [Samuel] Alito and Justice [Neil] Gorsuch and Justice [Stephen] Breyer, the days of discriminating against gay and lesbian Americans as inferior in dignity and worth are over,” Kavanaugh said.
Asked by Harris if he agrees with that statement, Kavanaugh replied, “That is the precedent of the Supreme Court.”
When Harris followed up by asking Kavanaugh again if he agrees with Obergefell, Kavanaugh dodged.
“Each of the justices have declined as a matter of judicial independence, each of them, to answer in that line of questions,” Kavanaugh said.
Harris pointed out Kavanaugh once said the ruling in Brown v. Board was one of the greatest moments in the court’s history and asked the nominee whether he thinks the same about Obergefell, but the nominee refused to say.
“I’ve said, senator, consistent with what the nominees have done, that the vast swath of modern case law, as Justice Kagan, you can’t as a nominee in this seat, give a thumbs up or thumbs down,” Kavanaugh said.
Pressed again by Harris on whether Obergefell was a great moment, Kavanaugh again referred to Masterpiece.
“Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion saying the days of treating gay and lesbian Americans, or gay and lesbian couples, as second-class citizens or inferior in dignity or worth are over in the Supreme Court,” Kavanaugh said. “That’s a very important statement.”
Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, criticized Kavanaugh in a statement for refusing to support the Obergefell decision.
“Brett Kavanaugh’s refusal to answer very basic, very direct questions about the Supreme Court’s historic ruling bringing marriage equality nationwide is alarming and completely unacceptable,” Griffin said. “The Obergefell decision is settled law. If this nominee cannot so much as affirm that or the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people and our families, he should not and must not be granted a lifetime appointment to our nation’s highest court.”
Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin Republicans, on the other hand said Kavanaugh’s response was worthy of praise.
“A Supreme Court nominee who declares that ‘the days of discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans are over’ is someone every LGBT American should celebrate — without exception,” Angelo said. “Even Ruth Bader Ginsburg refused to make such an assertion during her hearings, and she was confirmed by a vote of 96 to 3.”
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
Congress
House passes reconciliation with gender-affirming care funding ban
‘Big Beautiful Bill’ now heads to the Senate
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted 215-214 for passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” reconciliation package, which includes provisions that would prohibit the use of federal funds to support gender-affirming care.
But for an 11th hour revision of the bill late Wednesday night by conservative lawmakers, Medicaid and CHIP would have been restricted only from covering treatments and interventions administered to patients younger than 18.
The legislation would also drop requirements that some health insurers must cover gender-affirming care as an “essential health benefit” and force states that currently mandate such coverage to find it independently. Plans could still offer coverage for transgender care but without the EHB classification patients will likely pay higher out of pocket costs.
To offset the cost of extending tax cuts from 2017 that disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans, the reconciliation bill contains significant cuts to spending for federal programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Human Rights Campaign criticized House Republicans in a press release and statement by the group’s president, Kelley Robinson:
“People in this country want policies and solutions that make life better and expand access to the American Dream. Instead, anti-equality lawmakers voted to give handouts to billionaires built on the backs of hardworking people — with devastating consequences for the LGBTQ+ community.
“If the cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP or resources like Planned Parenthood clinics weren’t devastating enough, House Republicans added a last minute provision that expands its attacks on access to best practice health care to transgender adults.
“This cruel addition shows their priorities have never been about lowering costs or expanding health care access–but in targeting people simply for who they are. These lawmakers have abandoned their constituents, and as they head back to their districts, know this: they will hear from us.”
Senate Republicans are expected to pass the bill with the budget reconciliation process, which would allow them to bypass the filibuster and clear the spending package with a simple majority vote.
Changes are expected as the bill will be reviewed and amended by committees, particularly the Finance Committee, and then brought to the floor for debate — though modifications are expected to focus on Medicaid reductions and debate over state and local tax deductions.
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