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
• MIKE PENCE ON THE ISSU: ABORTN, GAY RIGHTS, IMMIGRATN AND MORE
• WHAT ARE MIKE PENCE'S VIEWS ON GAY MARRIAGE? HIS HISTORY IS ONE OF OPPOSN
• DID MIKE PENCE SUPPORT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY?
• MIKE PENCE IS NOT ANTI-GAY – I’M A GAY MAN WHO KNOWS HE’S BEEN FALSELY ACCED
• 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

After cricism om the bs muny, Pence signed an amendment to the law tend to protect gays and lbians. 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. ” Pence also lled beg gay a choice and said keepg gays om marryg was not discrimatn, but an enforcement of “God’s ia.

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. Pence’s opposn to LGBT equaly has long drawn the srn of gay rights activists and ma him a champn of the Relig Right.

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.

MIKE PENCE ON THE ISSU: ABORTN, GAY RIGHTS, IMMIGRATN AND MORE

“Once you intify homosexuals as a mory, then by fn they would need to be afford nstutnal protectn, ” Pence add.

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. 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.

WHAT ARE MIKE PENCE'S VIEWS ON GAY MARRIAGE? HIS HISTORY IS ONE OF OPPOSN

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. But the 1990s ments show for the first time Pence llg homosexualy a choice and offer a clearer view to Pence’s view on gay Amerins at the time. 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.

In September 1992, Lafayette, Indiana, first proposed addg homosexualy to s non-discrimatn ordance.

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.

DID MIKE PENCE SUPPORT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY?

Bill Clton would be elected that year mpaigng on endg the ban on homosexuals servg the ary. Pence argued the issue of gay rights would bee one of the most important issu of the 1990s. 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.

“It opens up om a legal standpot … a Pandora’s Box of legal rights and legal difficulti once you intify homosexuals as a discrete and sular mory. He lled homosexualy a “chosen liftyle” and warned that same-sex marriage uld e “societal llapse” that Christians need to build a “firewall” agast.

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

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. District Judge Richard Young clarg Indiana’s ban on gay marriage unnstutnal. Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ+ discsns schools.

Pence said he “fully supported” Florida’s famo “Don’t Say Gay” law, otherwise known as the Parental Rights Edutn Act. 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.

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

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.

“Homosexualy is patible wh ary service bee the prence of homosexuals the ranks weakens un hn, ” Pence said. 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. Spirual efforts to acplish the same goal are sometim lled “ex-gay mistry. ”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.