Pence has been particularly dogged by accusations that he is a supporter of “conversion therapy,” the practice of trying to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Trump’s running mate in July, he has faced complaints from groups critical of his record on gay and transgender rights, who said he has long been an opponent of the gains made by the L.G.B.T. Later in 2009, when a bill was again considered, he questioned whether transgender people had actually been victims of hate crimes.Since Gov. “I fear this legislation, intentionally or unintentionally, could have a chilling effect on the religious expression and the religious freedom of millions of Americans,” he said. In 2007, when the House of Representatives considered a bill to add sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability to the federal hate crimes prevention act, Pence took to the house floor to claim that hate crimes laws “serve no practical purpose”. He opposed hate crime protections, and even doubts the existence of hate crimes. (Michael Brochstein/ Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty) 6. Mike Pence oversaw a major HIV crisis in 2015. Pence has since defended his role in the outbreak and said he is “proud” of how he handled it. He continued his fervent criticism of needle exchanges for months after the crisis emerged, and it wasn’t until the end of March 2015 that he finally relented as he was forced to declare a state of emergency. He had also enacted a ban on needle exchanges despite such programmes being a proven method of HIV prevention. The issue was compounded by a complete lack of HIV testing centres in many areas of the state, as Pence had defunded Planned Parenthood. Pence was governor of Indiana when it experienced the “ largest concentrated outbreak of HIV ever documented in the United States” in 20. Mike Pence oversaw the ‘largest HIV outbreak’ after eliminating test centres and needle exchanges. After an awkward ten-second silence, Pence attempted to stall, responding: “It’s a great privilege to be your governor.” 5. “Yes or no: do you believe gay and transgender people should be able to be fired from their jobs just for that reason only?” he was asked. In a 2016 interview he was unable to answer when asked if should be legal to fire people because of their sexuality. Throughout his career Mike Pence has been a fierce crusader for “religious freedom” and there’s ample evidence of his efforts to undermine LGBT+ protections.įor example, in 2007 he voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a law which would have outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation across the US on grounds of religious freedom.Īs governor of Indiana, he signed Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a law which allows religious people and businesses to cite their conscience as a defence in legal disputes. The vice president backed laws allowing open discrimination against LGBT+ people.
While campaigning to be vice president he repeatedly declined requests to disavow the comments or clarify his point of view.Īfter being elected he attempted to rewrite history, claiming that he never actually supported the practise - even though his website had directly called for the therapy. On the archived website for Pence’s 2000 congressional campaign, he suggested that funding for HIV prevention programming should be suspended and instead diverted to organisations that “provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour”. Pence is famous for his connections to conversion therapy, a dangerous and discredited practise that has been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organisation for decades. Mike Pence helped enact the ban on trans people in the military. He was ultimately overruled, but as vice president he has been successful in helping to enact a controversial and discriminatory ban on transgender people serving in the military. Pence desperately urged Congress to “reject this measure,” adding: “No one in this house would desire to increase the risk on our soldiers at a time of war.”