The White House has been ridiculed for suggesting that Vice President Mike Pence is not ant-gay because he is meeting Ireland’s Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Leo Varadkar, who is gay.
Pence is currently visiting Ireland, and on Tuesday he and Second Lady Karen Pence had lunch with Varadkar and his partner, Dr. Matthew Barrett, prior to a joint press conference between Pence and Varadkar.
“For all of you who still think our @VP is anti-gay, I point you to his and the @SecondLady’s schedule tomorrow where they will join Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett for lunch in Ireland,” Judd Deere, White House deputy press secretary and special assistant to the President, tweeted on Monday.
Deere’s tweet was widely criticized by LGBTQ people and organizations, who refuted the idea that simply meeting with gay people proved a lack of anti-LGBTQ animosity.
“For those who think Mike Pence isn’t anti-gay, let me remind you that as Governor of Indiana, he pushed anti-LGBTQ policies so widely criticized that a corporate boycott of the state lost it tens of millions in revenue and made Pence the most unpopular governor in America,” Charlotte Clymer, rapid response press secretary at the Human Rights Campaign, tweeted.
LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD issued a rebuttal to Deere’s assertion that meeting with a gay person meant Pence wasn’t anti-gay.
“We can’t believe we have to say this but simply meeting with a gay person doesn’t erase Pence’s long history of attacking LGBTQ people through policy, legislation, and rhetoric. Nice try though,” GLAAD tweeted, adding a link to the organizations tracker of Pence’s anti-LGBTQ actions and statements.
Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Democratic presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg, similarly criticized Deere for his assertion.
“I’ve sat at tables with people who would gladly deny me the right to marry, who openly support conversion therapy, and who adamantly believe being gay is a choice,” Buttigieg tweeted. “Doesn’t mean they’re any less homophobic because we shared a meal.”
Pence has a long history of opposing LGBTQ rights, including saying in June that Donald Trump banning American embassies from flying LGBTQ Pride flags during Pride Month was “the right decision.”
In a statement on his congressional campaign website in 2000, he argued for resources to be directed away from “organisations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus” and instead go towards “those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.”
As governor of Indiana, Pence supported the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which allowed businesses and individuals to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
In addition, Pence opposes same-sex marriage, once telling Congress it would bring “societal collapse.” He opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. And he opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have banned discrimination against people based on sexuality.
In 2017, a New Yorker column alleged that Trump joked about Pence wanting to “hang” every gay person.
Pete Buttigieg has previously pushed back against the vice president’s bigotry, telling CNN’s New Day in April that Pence uses religion “as an excuse to harm other people.”
Tammy Baldwin, Angie Craig, and Mark Pocan were among the Democrats named by the alleged shooter, a right-wing pastor with a history of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
At least three out LGBTQ Democrats in Congress have been told their names appeared on a list kept by Vance Boelter -- a right-wing preacher suspected of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers, killing one.
The LGBTQ lawmakers -- Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) -- were among several dozen Democrats at all levels of government whose names appeared on Boelter’s alleged "hit list."
Boelter is accused of killing Minnesota Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman (Brooklyn Park) and her husband at their home on June 14, and of shooting Democratic State Sen. John Hoffman (Champlin) and his wife at their home. Hoffman and his wife are expected to recover.
In a clear jab at LGBTQ Pride Month, U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) introduced a resolution last week to declare June as "Family Month" — a move right-wing outlet The Daily Wire hailed as an effort to "reclaim the first month of summer from LGBTQ ideology."
The American family is under relentless attack from a radical leftist agenda that seeks to erase truth, redefine marriage, and confuse our children," Miller told The Daily Wire.
"By recognizing June as Family Month, we reject the lie of 'Pride' and instead honor God's timeless and perfect design. If we truly want to restore our nation, we must stand united to protect and uphold the foundation upon which it was built — the family."
A Christian school in the Atlanta suburbs forced a senior to withdraw just weeks before graduation after attending her prom with a transgender boy.
Emily Wright, who until recently attended North Cobb Christian School, went to her senior prom, which was held at an off-campus venue, with a friend who didn't attend the school.
"It was off-property. I did sign a form allowing her to bring a guest," Emily's mother, Tricia Wright, told Atlanta FOX affiliate WAGA-TV, noting that the only limitation on the form was related to the age of the guest.
Ten days after prom, Emily was called into the principal's office.
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