7/6/25

Ohio Man Charged With the Murder of Canton Drag Artist

Ryan Godbey / FaceBook

Canton Police have charged Daniel Mattay, 33, with the murder of beloved drag artist Ryan Godbey, even though Godbey has yet to be located.

Godbey, whose pronouns are they/them according to qommittee.org, performed as JJ and was excited do a show Saturday night. When they didn't show, they were reported as missing. Godbey was last seen at Darlin's Crew nightclub on Cherry Avenue NE on Thursday night.


They sent a text to a friend early Friday that Danny was "mad." Calls and texts to their phone since then have gone unanswered.

Daniel Mattay Credit: Stark County Jail

Canton police announced late Thursday that the disappearance of Ryan Godbey is now a homicide investigation. They’ve charged Daniel Mattay, Ryan’s former partner, with four felonies: murder, felonious assault, strangulation and domestic violence.

“New evidence has led our agency to transition the case from a missing person to a homicide investigation,” Canton Police Chief John Gabbard wrote in a news release. “While Godbey has not yet been located, the new evidence makes it clear that they are deceased and that Mr. Mattay is responsible.”

The police department did not say what the new evidence is. Mattay is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Monday in Canton Municipal Court.

7/4/25

Trans People Can Now Get Passports Indicating Their Authentic Gender

After two weeks of noncompliance with a court order from a class action lawsuit, the State Department's help page, updated two days ago, indicates that transgender people can get a passport with their authentic gender at least temporarily, as Orr. Vs. Trump moves through the legal process.

On June 17, 2025, U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston expanded a preliminary injunction she issued in April that allowed six transgender and nonbinary individuals who challenged the policy to obtain passports consistent with their gender identities or with an "X" sex designation while the lawsuit moves forward, Reuters Reports.

Kobick did so after concluding the policy the U.S. Department of State adopted pursuant to an executive order Trump signed likely discriminated on the basis of sex and was rooted in an irrational prejudice toward transgender Americans that violated the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment.

Will Trump appeal this to the Supreme Court? According to the Trump Anti-LGBTQ+ Executive Order Litigation Tracker he hasn't done that yet.