News
House Republican tries to scrub online references to his anti-LGBTQ record
Congressional aide appears responsible for hiding anti-LGBTQ past

A House Republican whose opposition to LGBTQ rights has been front-and-center on his campaign and Wikipedia pages appears to have tried to sweep his record under the rug — and evidence suggests the person responsible is his communications director.
Rep. James Comer, first elected four years ago to represent Kentucky’s 1st congressional district, has made his opposition to LGBTQ rights clear from the start. That’s consistent with his state being home to Kim Davis, the county clerk famously jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
His campaign website, in its issues section, once proudly declared Comer’s opposition to same-sex marriage as a selling point for his candidacy for the U.S. House in addition to being against abortion rights and Obamacare. The footprint of the older webpage can still be found using archival internet tools.
“I am 100 [percent] pro-life and I oppose gay marriage,” Comer wrote. “While I was a Kentucky State Representative, I cosponsored the 2005 amendment that made same sex marriage illegal in Kentucky. As a Congressman, I will always strongly support life and only support traditional marriage between one man and one woman. I will make sure that liberal, anti-family groups like Planned Parenthood never get one penny of our tax dollars.”
True to his campaign position against LGBTQ rights, Comer in Congress voted “no” both times in 2019 and 2021 when the U.S. House brought to the floor the Equality Act, which would expand the prohibition against LGBTQ non-discrimination under federal civil rights law.
But the congressman’s willingness to make those views available to the public appears to have changed based on alterations to his personal webpages.
Although the “issues” page has been scrapped from his campaign website entirely, much of the identical information can be found on his congressional webpage. Missing, however, is the portion from his campaign page that once denoted his opposition to same-sex marriage.
Further, information on Comer’s opposition to LGBTQ rights, including being against same-sex marriage and his votes against the Equality Act, are included on his Wikipedia, but someone replaced that information after it was deleted last month.
It appears Comer’s own staff has been working to scrub any reference to his opposition to LGBTQ rights. A look at the edits made to the Wikipedia page ascribes the initial change to someone with the username SmithMatt22, which is identical to the Twitter handle of his communications director, Matt Smith.
Comer is acknowledging nothing. His congressional office, and Smith in particular, didn’t respond to multiple requests from the Blade to comment, including to deny his staffers were responsible for seeking to hide his positions on LGBTQ rights.
It’s unlikely objections to Comer deleting the information on his LGBTQ record would impact future elections. Kentucky’s 1st congressional district is weighted R+23 and considered not in play in upcoming elections.
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.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
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