Vice President Pence and Homosexuals

Vice President Mike Pence has a long history of taking religious positions in government that discriminate against LGBT issues. Here are some of the statements and positions Pence has had related to LGBT issues:

He said gay couples signaled ‘societal collapse’.

In 2006, as head of the Republican Study Committee, a group of the 100 most-conservative House members, Pence rose in support of a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Citing a Harvard researcher, Pence said in his speech, “societal collapse was always brought about following the advent of the deterioration of marriage and family.” Pence also called being gay a choice and said keeping gays from marrying was not discrimination, but an enforcement of “God’s idea.”

He opposed a law that would prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would have banned discrimination against people based on sexual orientation. Pence voted against that law in 2007 and later said the law “wages war on freedom and religion in the workplace. More than 20 years after the bill was first introduced, the Senate approved the proposal in 2013, but the bill failed in the House.

He opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Pence favored the longtime military policy of not letting soldiers openly identify as gay. In 2010, Pence told CNN he did not want to see the military become “a backdrop for social experimentation. The policy ended in 2011.

He opposed transgender bathrooms.

He rejected the Obama administration directive on transgender bathrooms. In May 2018, the federal government directed school districts to allow students to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. The directive came as criticism grew around a North Carolina law that would have restricted the use of bathrooms. Along with many other conservatives, Pence opposed Obama’s directive and said it was a state issue. “The federal government has no business getting involved in the issues of this nature.” Pence said.

Pence is a supporter of conversion therapy.

Pence has been particularly dogged by accusations that he is a supporter of “conversion therapy”. This is the practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It has been discredited by the medical establishment and denounced by gay and transgender groups.

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, has called Pence “the face of anti-LGBTQ hate in America.” Pence “has made attacking the rights and dignity of LGBT people a cornerstone of his political career—not just a part, but a defining part of his career” he said.

Once Trump mocked Pence’s socially conservative beliefs. When the conversation turned to gay rights, Trump motioned toward Pence and joked, “Don’t ask that guy—he wants to hang them all!” Before the Vice President could respond, many gay rights advocates responded to the report on social media, taking issue with both Trump’s joking tone and Pence’s history on their issues. The National Center for Lesbian Rights tweeted that having a president joke about the death of gay Americans is not normal.

Donald Trump's Cabinet Elect and Their Views on LGBTQ

Although Donald Trump called himself a “supporter” of LGBTQ rights, his cabinet and senior staff will include some of the most anti-gay politicians in the country. One of the biggest decisions a president can make is the selection of a Supreme Court Justice. In January, Trump told Fox News he would “strongly consider” appointing Supreme Court justices who would overturn the 2015 decision allowing same-sex marriage.

Many people in the know say that his views on many issues are all over the place, and he’s likely to follow the advice of the person he last talked to. When you look at the cabinet members he is assembling you see they all want to roll back gay rights. They are the ones who will have Trumps ear and are likely to pursue their agenda independently within their domains.

The Attorney General is the top law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. government. He or she is expected to protect Americans and not have antagonism against certain groups – like the LGBTQ community, women and people of color. So it is a concern that the Human Rights Campaign has given Jeff Sessions a “zero percent” voting record on LGBT rights. 

This record goes beyond voting for a failed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and against the repeal of “Don’t ask don’t tell,” as Sessions did, and includes his opposition to expanding the definition of a hate crime to include LGBTQ people. As head of the Justice Department, Sessions could undermine hate crime protections and undo Obama’s directive to schools not to discriminate against transgender students. 

On LGBTQ rights, Ben Carson is hostile, saying that sexual orientation is a choice, comparing gay sex to bestiality, and opining that LGBTQs have more rights than Christians in America. He’s the choice for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary. He’s also opposed to non-discrimination laws of all kind, laws he would be tasked with enforcing. As HUD Secretary he could rescind a 2012 rule prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination in federally funded housing for low-income people, as one example.

The billionaire Republican donor Betsy DeVos is not only anti-public school – we’re noticing a trend of nominating those who are opposed to the mission of the cabinets they would lead – she’s also an antigay activist. Her family has donated to anti-gay groups, including groups that advocate for the widely discredited conversion therapy to “cure” gays of their same-sex attraction.

LGBTQ kids have reason for concern, as Devos could remove the protection of favorable guidance in schools, including the Department of Education’s letters that have taken a strong stand against antigay and ant-trans policies in school districts.

As Trump’s top White House adviser not subject to Congressional confirmation, Steve Bannon will definitely have the President’s ear. He’s been getting deserved consternation for his views on race and his alleged coddling of white supremacists. But as the chairman of Breitbart News Network, he also signed off on antigay stories, with headlines like, "Gay rights have made us dumber, It's time to get back in the closet".

Vice President-elect Mike Pence signed a controversial "Right to Discriminate" bill that allowed business to refuse service to LGBTQ people. As a Congressman, he urged lawmakers to “oppose any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an equal legal status.”

“One thing we know is that Pence is deeply devoted to undermining the human and civil rights of the LGBTQ community,” writes Emily Hauser in the Week. Hauser says Americans should pay close attention to what Pence does, as he’s already playing an outsized role in the administration, almost a shadow President.

Many members of the transition policy team echo these same feelings toward gays. This includes a Britbart editer who has worked for antigay groups and has written about the “homosexual agenda.” Plus, the Trump transition team’s domestic policy advisor, Ken Blackwell, has said gays can be reformed, “just like arsonists.”

Will the beliefs and past actions of these officials, assuming the ones up for confirmation are confirmed, matter to the day-to-day lives of LGBTQ Americans? Are hard-won gains of recent years in danger of being rolled back? Most definitely.

It’s become clear that as far as broad public opinion goes, the equality train has left the station. A solid majority of Americans approve of gay rights. The Pew poll even found that 51 percent think that a person should use the restroom that corresponds to his or her gender identity. In North Carolina, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory was defeated, likely for pushing House Bill 2, the infamous “bathroom bill,” that brought an economic backlash to the state.

But the general public doesn’t make laws. And this election, we’re told, turned on economic anxiety of the white working class. LGBTQ rights were not well-explored in the general campaign, possibly because so many of the gains under the Obama administration were considered “settled.” But let’s be honest, nothing is ever settled.

There are many unknowns in the upcoming administration. LGBTQ rights can be rolled back. Without close scrutiny and, if necessary, public outcry, the civil rights gains of this community could recede like the tide. 

Democratic and Republican Platform Differences for LIGHT Community

There are stark differences between the 2016 Democratic and Republican platforms. The GOP platform has the most anti-LGBT language in history while the Democratic platform is the most progressive in the history of the Democratic Party.

The GOP platform has no mention of LGBT and mentions the terms gender identity, sexual orientation or equality three times. The Democratic platform has 24 mentions of those same terms and dedicates an entire section to addressing concerns of the LGBT Community. This year there are well over 600 Democrat delegates compared to just 6 out Republican delegates. From this comparison the contrast is obvious—the Democrats are more concerned with LGBT lives than the GOP.

The Democratic Platform

The 2016 Democratic platform applauds the marriage equality ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that “recognized the LGBT people – like other Americans – have the right to marry the person they love,” and acknowledges “there is still much work to be done.”

There is an entire section called “Guaranteeing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights,” where the party outlines all it wants to accomplish to ensure that LGBT lives are equal under the law. It talks about current LGBT topics likeddd LGBT youth being bullied in school, restaurants refusing service to trans men and women and same-sex couples at risk of being evicted from their homes. “That is unacceptable and must change. Democrats will fight for the continued development of sex discrimination laws to cover LGBT people,” the platform reads.

It goes on to say, “We support a progressive vision of religious freedom that respects pluralism and rejects the misuse of religion to discriminate. We will combat LGBT youth homelessness and improve school climates. We will support LGBT elders, ensure access to necessary health care, and protect LGBT people from violence—including ending the crisis of violence against transgender Americans.”

The platform addresses the upcoming 2020 Census and promises to equip the Census Bureau with resources to accurately represent LGBT lives as well as those who are persistently undercounted such as communities of color, immigrants, young children and those with disabilities.

The platform states that the party is proud of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and commits to “insuring fair treatment for LGBT veterans, including by proactively reviewing and upgrading discharge records for veterans who were discharged because of their sexual orientation.”

The Democratic Party believes that LGBT rights are human rights and should be reflected in American foreign policy. “We will continue to stand with LGBT people around the world, including fighting efforts by any nation to infringe on LGBT rights or ignore abuse.”

The Republican Platform

The GOP platform seeks to reverse the 2015 marriage equality SCOTUS ruling through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning the issue to the states. In addition, the GOP platform also objects the use of federal law to ensure trans people can use the bathroom consistent with their identity.” They support “ex-gay” conversion therapy and endorse the First Amendment Defense Act; a “religious freedom” bill that critics say enables anti-LGBT discrimination.

The platform discusses LGBT youth and access to safe schools, claiming that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is being used by bureaucrats and President Obama to impose a social and cultural revolution upon the American people by wrongly redefining sex discrimination to include sexual orientation or other categories.

Families are also a target in the GOP platform, and the platform stands firm on “traditional values” and states, “Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values.

The Republican Platform indicates a strong “no-change stance” while the Democratic Party is proud of and acknowledges their shift in focus. It is imperative for all LGBT people to get out to vote in the upcoming election so that hard-worked for policies are not revoked, putting us back!