J.D. Vance opposes same-sex marriage — but lives '100 yards away' from gay bar: report
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance doesn’t want gays to get married, but he apparently lives “100 yards away” from a gay bar in northern Virginia, the Washington Blade reports.
Vance and his family live in a $1.6 million home on a side street near Mt. Vernon Avenue in Alexandria’s Del Ray district, the neighborhood’s main shopping district which in June became home to “Pride On The Avenue” – a gay bar pop up for Pride Month.
The bar’s owner, Bill Blackburn, told The Blade Vance lives “like 100 yards away” from Pride on the Avenue. The neighborhood was gentrified about three decades ago as it became popular among the LGBTQ community, Blackburn said. During June, many businesses and residents along the strip hang pride flags.
“Del Ray was kind of gentrified by a lot of the gay community in the ‘90s […] and there’s still a lot of residents in Del Ray from that early period who kind of reinvigorated Del Ray,” Blackburn told The Blade in an interview. “So, it’s interesting how this neighborhood evolved and how it’s become such a sought-after neighborhood that we even get right-wing Republicans who see the value of living here.”
Openly gay Virginia state Sen. Adam Ebbin said that living in Alexandria’s diverse gayborhood, “gives J.D. Vance an opportunity to experience what truly makes America great,” Ebbin said in an email to the Washington Blade.
Read also: 'Regret': Why Rachel Maddow thinks Trump is now kicking himself over J.D. Vance pick