What we know about Gov. Mike Pence's posn on gay rights over the years

Contents:

• MIKE PENCE ARGUED HOMOSEXUALY WAS ‘A CHOICE’ OR ‘LEARNED BEHAVR’ DURG 1990S FIGHT AGAST GAY RIGHTS ORDANCE
• DID MIKE PENCE SUPPORT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY?
• AMID CONTROVERSY, PENCE BACKS DOWN ON ANTI-GAY LAW
• 9 OF MIKE PENCE'S MOST NTROVERSIAL STANC REGARDG GAY RIGHTS, ABORTN AND SMOKG
• DID VICE PRINT MIKE PENCE WARN AGAST 'GAY ALIENS'?
• MIKE PENCE IS NOT ANTI-GAY – I’M A GAY MAN WHO KNOWS HE’S BEEN FALSELY ACCED
• HERE ARE SOME OF MIKE PENCE'S MOST NTROVERSIAL STANC ON GAY RIGHTS, ABORTN, AND SMOKG
• WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT GOV. MIKE PENCE'S POSN ON GAY RIGHTS OVER THE YEARS

MIKE PENCE ARGUED HOMOSEXUALY WAS ‘A CHOICE’ OR ‘LEARNED BEHAVR’ DURG 1990S FIGHT AGAST GAY RIGHTS ORDANCE

Read More: Donald Tmp Nam Veep Pick on Twter Here are some of the statements and posns Pence had has related to LGBT issu: He said gay upl signaled ‘societal llapse’ In 2006, as head of the Republin Study Commtee, a group of the 100 most-nservative Hoe members, Pence rose support of a nstutnal amendment that would have fed marriage as between a man and a woman. Read More: Why Donald Tmp Picked Mike Pence as Runng Mate He opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Pence favored the longtime ary policy of not lettg soldiers openly intify as gay. Vice Print Mike Pence once argued that homosexualy was a choice durg his fight the early 1990s agast lol efforts Indiana to ban discrimatn based on sexual orientatn.

DID MIKE PENCE SUPPORT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY?

But scty of Pence’s rerd on LGBT issu tensified recently when Whe Hoe Deputy prs secretary Judd Deere suggted last week a tweet that the vice print wasn’t anti-gay bee he was havg lunch wh the Irish prime mister, who is gay, and his partner durg a state vis. The ltle-explored episo the 1990s, unearthed lol newspaper clippgs durg a eper KFile review of Pence’s rerd on LGBT issu, highlights an early wdow to the now-vice print’s public activism and views opposn of gay rights.

Pence argued the 1990s that, unlike protectns for Ain Amerins, homosexuals choose or learn to be gay and was part of a “grassroots-generated movement for regnn of homosexual rights” natnwi.

I do not choose whether I am a black Amerin … the great vast majory of the psychologil muny says homosexualy at a very mimum is a choice by the dividual, and at the maximum, is a learned behavr.

AMID CONTROVERSY, PENCE BACKS DOWN ON ANTI-GAY LAW

The Amerin Psychologil Associatn said 1992 that data did not support the view that homosexualy was a choice and studi at the time the 1990s suggted homosexualy was blogil and geic. The arguments ma the 1990s by Pence would echo those he later emphasized when he ran for Congrs 2000 when his platform protted extendg civil rights protectns to gay Amerins.

Dignatg gay Amerins worthy of such protectns unr the law, Pence said, would open “a Pandora’s Box of legal rights and legal difficulti” and was part of grassroots movements by gay activists for creasg their rights. The ordance, which featured exemptns for church and church-affiliated groups, would give a group of ne people appoted by the mayor the abily to vtigate and mediate discrimatn plats agast homosexual or bi-sexual rints hog, public acmodatns, and employment. Public opn polls the US at the time were equally divid over whether homosexualy should be accepted by society and many of the ballot iativ 1992 aimed at nouncg homosexualy or repealg measur that protected homosexuals om discrimatn had mixed rults.

9 OF MIKE PENCE'S MOST NTROVERSIAL STANC REGARDG GAY RIGHTS, ABORTN AND SMOKG

Though some rints and relig misters argued agast the measure bee they said homosexualy was a s and they did not want to hire or rent to homosexuals, Pence and the Indiana Policy Review opposed the measure on public policy grounds.

Former Vice Print Mike Pence told stunts at the Universy of Virgia that any gay child he fathered would be ments me rponse to a qutn om a stunt about what Pence would say to a child who me out as gay to him.

DID VICE PRINT MIKE PENCE WARN AGAST 'GAY ALIENS'?

His disapproval at the time was echoed his 2014 letter to a nstuent which stated, “I firmly believe that the sacred stutn of marriage is between one man and one woman, ” addg, “Congrs should oppose any effort to put gay and lbian relatnships on an equal legal stat wh heterosexual marriage. In 2009, Pence signed a letter mandg that a feral appotee be fired bee of his “role promotg homosexualy and phg a pro-homosexual agenda Ameri’s schools—an agenda that ns unter to the valu that many parents sire to still their children, ” The Hill reported. He also opposed the 2009 Matthew Shepard Hate Crim Act bee he felt would “advance a radil social agenda” and be ed to legally timidate Christian pastors for “simply exprsg a Biblil worldview on the issue of homosexual behavr.

In October 2016, an image appeared on social media accg Indiana's ernor (and Republin printial nomee Donald Tmp's nng mate) Mike Pence of supportg "gay nversn" therapy, particularly the e of electric shocks as part of the practice:.

MIKE PENCE IS NOT ANTI-GAY – I’M A GAY MAN WHO KNOWS HE’S BEEN FALSELY ACCED

Although he didn't say so outright, the posn has been wily terpreted as signalg Pence's support for "gay nversn" therapy, which seeks to "cure" patients of beg attracted to members of the same sex. Acrdg to the Amerin Psychologil Associatn, electric shocks were one of the techniqu ed to addrs homosexualy through "aversn therapy" prr to the group's cisn 1973 to stop classifyg as a mental disorr. The potential risks of reparative therapy are great, cludg prsn, anxiety and self-stctive behavr, sce therapist alignment wh societal prejudic agast homosexualy may rerce self-hatred already experienced by the patients who have unrgone reparative therapy relate that they were accurately told that homosexuals are lonely, unhappy dividuals who never achieve acceptance or satisfactn.

HERE ARE SOME OF MIKE PENCE'S MOST NTROVERSIAL STANC ON GAY RIGHTS, ABORTN, AND SMOKG

The possibily that the person might achieve happs and satisfyg terpersonal relatnships as a gay man or lbian is not prented, nor are alternative approach to alg wh the effects of societal stigmatizatn discsed. While Pence is bt known for his bumblg attempt to rebrand antigay bigotry as relig liberty last year, that was hardly his first foray to the fields of homophobia. To prove that he wasn’t sglg gay people out, Pence was also willg to jail marriage clerks who supplied a license or clergy who performed the weddg.

Longg for the good old days of plete visibily for gay people, Pence predictably ignored the preponrance of evince support of repealg Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. “There’s no qutn to mastream homosexualy wh active duty ary would have an impact on un hn, ” Pence argued, dismissg the repeal as “some liberal domtic social agenda. While he was Congrs argug agast marriage equaly, Pence stated that beg gay was a choice, and that "societal llapse was always brought about followg an advent of the terratn of marriage and fay.

" In short, Pence said that gay and lbians beg able to marry one another would lead to disastro out on Mike PencePence don't thk cigarette smokg killsAs late as the year 2000, Pence nied that smokg uld kill you. The popular name of the policy, "don't ask, don't tell, " referenced the way which gay and lbian soldiers would be acclimated — as long as they didn't say anythg, gays and lbians would be allowed to the years followg, beme clear that the policy was an unfair practice, a separate-but-unequal way of alg wh the issue.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT GOV. MIKE PENCE'S POSN ON GAY RIGHTS OVER THE YEARS

In November 2016, a photograph purportedly showg a young Mike Pence wh his cht exposed was circulated on social media along wh the claim that documented the vice print's "gay past":. In Augt 2018, the New Yorker's Andy Borowz published a report posg that Vice Print Mike Pence had proposed g the recently-announced "Space Force" to fend the Uned Stat agast attacks by "outer-space gays. Pence has equently been the target of cricism and ridicule om some quarters for his perceived views on homosexualy and LGBT rights and his nservative Christian beliefs, an aspect that formed the basis of this Borowz piece.

Tmp’s nng mate July, he has faced plats om groups cril of his rerd on gay and transgenr rights, who said he has long been an opponent of the gas ma by the L. It has been discreded by the medil tablishment and nounced by gay and transgenr Pence’s spokman, Marc Lotter, nied to The Tim over the weekend that the vice print-elect supports the practice, sayg a past mpaign statement had been misterpreted. Groups rema skeptil, potg to his rerd of opposn to gay rights as a member of Congrs and as ernor of Indiana and an approvg reference to nversn therapy the 2016 Republin Party, what is nversn therapy, and why is Mr.

”Conversn therapy has been nmned by a range of groups, cludg the Amerin Medil Associatn and the Amerin Psychologil Associatn, which said was based on the view that homosexualy is a disorr, an ia “that has been rejected by all the major mental health profsns.