Ryan Butler
American politician and filmmaker
title: "Ryan Butler" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)", "place-of-birth-missing-(living-people)", "american-documentary-film-directors", "film-directors-from-south-carolina", "film-directors-from-washington,-d.c.", "american-gay-politicians", "american-lgbtq-film-directors", "lgbtq-people-from-south-carolina", "living-people", "people-from-myrtle-beach,-south-carolina", "politicians-from-washington,-d.c.", "university-of-north-carolina-school-of-the-arts-alumni", "american-university-washington-college-of-law-alumni"] description: "American politician and filmmaker" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Butler" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American politician and filmmaker ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ryan Butler |
| image | Ryan Butler.jpg |
| birth_name | Ryan Townsend Butler |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | |
| education | {{ubl |
| party | Democratic |
| spouse | |
| website | |
| occupation | |
| :: |
| name = Ryan Butler | image = Ryan Butler.jpg | birth_name = Ryan Townsend Butler | birth_date = | birth_place = | education = {{ubl | University of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA) | American University (JD) | party = Democratic | spouse = | website = | occupation =
Ryan Townsend Butler is an American politician and filmmaker. He directed the first documentary about same-sex marriage to air on national television in the United States, is the former president of the LGBT Democrats of North Carolina and is a former member of the Democratic National Committee.
Political career
Butler previously served on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission for Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. in Ward 2. He was elected on November 7, 2006 with 87.47% of the vote. He was the first President of the LGBT Democrats of North Carolina. In April 2015 Butler was appointed as Chair of the Council of Review of the North Carolina Democratic Party. On February 6, 2016 he was one of five people elected to the Democratic National Committee by the North Carolina Democratic Party’s State Executive Committee, making him a superdelegate. That marked the first time an out LGBT DNC member had ever been elected by the North Carolina Democratic Party.
Film and legal career
Butler's most notable film, A Union in Wait (2001), was an independent documentary film about same-sex marriage which aired on Sundance Channel and screened at more than 20 film festivals worldwide. It was the first documentary about same-sex marriage to air on national television in the United States.
After the release of A Union in Wait, Butler worked as a television editor in Washington, D.C., for ABC 7, the National Geographic Channel, and CNN. In 2008 he moved back to North Carolina, where he worked as in house counsel at Replacements, Ltd. after working for the North Carolina General Assembly and then as an attorney in private practice.
References
References
- (February 12, 2016). "Charlotte: Gay delegate, PFLAG fundraiser, prayer breakfast, band concert, music benefit, vet summit, men's group – QNotes".
- "Dupont Circle ANC 2B - Commissioner Ryan Butler 2B04".
- "District of Columbia: Board of Elections and Ethics: Election Results".
- "President's Council – LGBT Democrats of NC".
- (November 10, 2013). "Cooper to gay rights group: Day of equality is coming – QNotes".
- "President's Council | LGBTQ Democrats of NC".
- "NC Democratic Party tries to oust former labor commissioner John Brooks".
- (February 12, 2016). "Charlotte: Gay delegate, PFLAG fundraiser, prayer breakfast, band concert, music benefit, vet summit, men's group – QNotes".
- "A Union In Wait".
- "Sundance Gets Religious".
- Drusch, Andrea. (17 March 2014). "Fred Phelps: 10 things to know".
- Allen, Bob. (22 March 2019). "North Carolina Baptist church ordaining trans woman to gospel ministry".
- (October 15, 2013). "Replacements, Ltd. Announces Additions to Legal and Management Teams".
- "Archive.org, North Carolina General Assembly - Senate Members & Respective Legislative Staff".
- "Attorney Ryan Butler".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::