Gov of Kentucky Proud To Be With Drag Queens in Pic~ GOP Forgets is 2020 Criticized Him

 Gov. Beshear defends photo taken with drag queens

       

(AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear defended a photograph of him posing with drag queens at a gay rights rally and accused a Republican lawmaker of using homophobic tactics by displaying the photo at a recent campaign rally while accusing Democrats of corrupting traditional values.

Beshear, a Democrat, told reporters Thursday that he would pose for the photo again, saying he was practicing his faith to treat everyone with respect.

The Republican lawmaker who denounced the photo at the rally owes an apology to everyone appearing in the picture, Beshear said. At the weekend rally for a Republican legislative candidate, state Sen. Phillip Wheeler accused Beshear and the Democratic Party of corrupting the values of children, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. 

“They were absolutely homophobic," the governor said of the lawmaker's remarks. “I don't think he is the fashion police for the Capitol. I believe he owes each and every one of them an apology. They are as much Kentuckians as anybody else."

The photo was taken at the Capitol Rotunda in Frankfort on Feb. 19 as LGBTQ advocates gathered for Kentucky Fairness Rally, according to a report from LEX 18 in Lexington, Kentucky. 

Wheeler defended his comments Thursday, saying they were not directed toward homosexuals.

“My problem is not with the gay movement," he said in a phone interview. “I didn't say anything about the ‘Pride Celebration.'"

Wheeler said he objected to what the drag queens wore. One of them donned a KFC bucket crafted to look like a nun’s habit while another posing behind Beshear was wearing horns.

“What I thought indecent was the fact that they wore outfits that mocked the Christian religion and mocked traditional values," Wheeler said. “That's what I've got a problem with, is the mockery and the fact that the governor would pose and support that."

The Republican candidate won this week's special election for an eastern Kentucky House seat that had been held by a Democrat for decades. The Appalachian region is a stronghold for Republican President Donald Trump. Beshear said Thursday he didn't think the photo influenced the outcome.

At the campaign event, Wheeler said: “This is not only a fight for the soul of America," the Lexington newspaper reported. “It is a fight against evil, for just the forces of decency.”

According to LEX 18, a video shared on Representative-elect Richard White's official Facebook page shows Wheeler speaking to a group of voters in Elliot County a few days before White won a special election in that district. In the video, Wheeler is seen walking around, showing the photo to the group. 

"I would have never thought that there would be a day where we have people dressed in devil horns celebrating with our governor in our beautiful Capitol in Frankfort, Kentucky. A place with much religious imagery and yet we have a Governor that celebrates it being defiled," Wheeler said in the video.

The Kentucky Democratic Party on Thursday called for Wheeler's resignation and for the Republican leadership in the State Senate and the House to denounce the comments.

“It’s time for Phillip Wheeler to go. He’s an embarrassment to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and his hateful, ignorant comments do not have any place in the Statehouse,” Marisa McNee, spokeswoman for the KDP, said. “If Senator Wheeler does not resign, the Senate must censure him immediately.”

Wheeler told LEX 18 that he would not resign. 

"I think it's being presented as an LGBTQ issue and in my opinion, it's not an LGBTQ issue," said Wheeler. "It's a question of decorum and this particular group - the post with the governor- I mean, part of their agenda is to mock people of religion by using specific religious garb. Like, I think the one used a habit made out of a KFC bucket. One used devil horns. You know, I think that the intention, or the posing of the governor with the group that mocks traditional religion, is just a question of decency. Is that really what we want to support in the Commonwealth of Kentucky?"

Some of the drag queens in the photo come from a group called The Derby City Sisters, which sent a statement to WDRB News in response to Wheeler's comments: 

"The Derby City Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is an order of sacred clown nuns whose goal is to bring education and awareness of the LGBT+ community. We strive to be present in the community so that others can see they are allowed to be comfortable as they are, where they are in their journey. We would love for anyone (especially Senator Wheeler and Representative White) to come and get to know us! We look atypical as a goal, however, our mission can be easily skewed when someone doesn’t know who we are."

Other queens come from a group called Kentucky Fried Sisters, LEX 18 reported. Both the Derby City Sisters and Kentucky Fried Sisters are part of the Kentucky order of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

In a Facebook post, the Derby City Sisters invited Wheeler and White to get to know them. 

"We are a nonprofit, who seeks to let everyone know that they are loved and that they belong," the post read. "We advocate for those without a voice. We are dedicated to community service, and we humbly promote human rights and respect for diversity."

Beshear recently became Kentucky’s first sitting governor to attend and speak at the gay rights rally in the state Capitol Rotunda, a few steps from the governor’s office. The rallies by gay-rights supporters date back to the 1990s, activists said.

"As your governor, my door is always open to you," Beshear said at the rally. "And as long as I'm the governor, these doors will always be open to anybody."

The governor spoke against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and supported a ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth during the rally. Beshear said Thursday that he was proud to make history with his appearance.

“It's time to move beyond the hatred and the division and treat everyone the way that they're supposed to be treated," he said. “For me, it's a matter of faith, morals and doing what's right."

“I would absolutely take that picture again because those are Kentuckians that were here at their Capitol," the governor added.

Beshear defeated Republican incumbent Matt Bevin, a staunch social conservative, to win the governorship in last year's election.

Political opposition to gay rights has some deep roots in Kentucky.

In 2004, Kentucky voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. But in June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples have the right to marry. The ruling overturned same-sex marriage bans nationwide.

A county clerk in Kentucky, Kim Davis, made international news when she was jailed in 2015 for refusing to issue marriage licenses after gay weddings became legal. She cited her religious beliefs and said she was acting under “God’s authority.”

Davis was released only after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The state legislature later passed a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses.

Gay-rights activists have made headway. A growing number of Kentucky municipalities have passed local “fairness ordinances,” which ban LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.