Rep. Ken Calvert
A Republican congressman from Southern California is shifting from his anti-LGBTQ+ views — at least publicly — as redrawing of boundaries has put him in a more liberal district where he’s facing a gay challenger, reports The Advocate.
Rep. Ken Calvert has a history of opposition to LGBTQ+ equality over his 30-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, having racked up low scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard and once used a gay opponent’s sexuality against him. Under the previous district map, his district, the 41nd, was heavily Republican. Now, with redistricting having taken place after the latest U.S. Census, his district is the 41st, with an even split between Democrats and Republicans, and includes the heavily LGBTQ+ city of Palm Springs. He’ll face gay Democrat Will Rollins in the November election.
Calvert recently told the Los Angeles Times he now supports marriage equality, which he had previously opposed, and doesn’t think the 2015 Supreme Court decision that established equal marriage rights nationwide should be overturned.
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