By Kate Murphy
Mike Pence is often seen as a more calm, more composed, less unhinged and more intelligent version of President Donald Trump, but he is much more than the sidekick to the President’s villainy. He is, as he puts it, “A Christian, Conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” He has very strong and very dangerous beliefs, and his appearance of composure in contrast to the President makes his beliefs very easy to overlook. One of the topics that Pence has worryingly strong views on is LGBT rights. He has, on many occasions, openly opposed legislation that would protect or extend rights to the community, has a hardline stance on queer people serving in the military, and arguably most heinous of all, has strong ties and a dark history with conversion therapy1.
When it comes to Mike Pence’s homophobia, his actions speak louder than his words. He has opposed many bills that would extend rights to LGBT people. On his campaign site for his 2000 run for senate, he had this to say on renewing the Ryan White Care Act2, “Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” While most people bring this quote up as proof of Pence’s support of conversion therapy (discussed further in the next paragraph), this is an example of Pence cutting important programs and funding for the community, all because funding such programs may “encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.” Furthermore, Pence actively and vocally opposed the legalization of gay marriage in 2006, saying, “Societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family.”. In 2009, Pence opposed another landmark bill for the community, downvoting the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Bill3. He claimed that it advanced a “radical social agenda” that would have “a chilling effect on religious expression.” One of the laws that Pence has been most vocally opposed to is the repealing of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell4. When faced with the possibility of the outdated and offensive rule being repealed, Pence said “There’s no question to mainstream homosexuality within active duty military would have an impact on unit cohesion.” He also began an impassioned speech in front of Congress by saying that “America doesn’t want to see the military pushing a liberal agenda”, as though extending basic human rights is part of a leftist conspiracy. However, his disdain for queer people serving in the military has been a long-lasting belief for Pence with his 2000 campaign website saying “homosexuality is incompatible with military service.” These are only a few notable examples of Pence refusing to extend rights to the LGBT community. Mike Pence has openly and aggressively opposed any legislature protecting queer people, showcasing his fear and contempt for the community, a very dangerous thing for the so-called Vice President of the free world to have.
While all of Pence’s fights against LGBT rights are appalling, he has close ties with one of, if not the most disturbing homophobic practice: conversion therapy. As mentioned above, Pence said on his now notorious 2000 campaign site that “Congress should support the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour.” This is widely seen as being in support of conversion therapy, especially in reference to Pence saying that federal resources should be given to organizations that can change sexual behaviour, a goal of conversion therapy. Pence has since denied supporting the practice in regard to his campaign site, saying that the intended meaning was for funding to go to organizations that promote safe sex, arguably a far reach. Despite his denial of supporting conversion therapy on his 2000 site, he has also refused to explain the line “... ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus,” which is believed to call for funding cuts to any LGBT organization. Besides his now 20-year-old campaign website, Pence has also had much more recent signs of supporting conversion therapy, or at least people closely tied to it. Pence is very close friends with James Dobson, the founder, and leader (until 2010) of an organization called Focus on the Family. Mike Pence has called this man his mentor. Focus on the family, while under Dobson’s lead, ran conferences about “Addressing, Understanding and Preventing Homosexuality.” This conversation was called Love Won Out, a truly unfortunate name given the subject matter. Focus on the Family also has articles with titles such as “Navigating Sexual Sin,” and “Does my Tomboyish Daughter Need Counselling?” Many of their articles on homosexuality are also listed under the “Life Challenges” heading on their website. Mike Pence’s history with conversion therapy, one of the most vile homophobic practices, acts as the cherry on top of a dark history of intolerance and fear.
Mike Pence is not the stable version of the president that many people think he is. While he is more calm and contained, he also has something very dangerous that the President does not: strong, unwavering beliefs and values that he consistently stands for and supports on a legislative level. The President provides the perfect distraction for Pence to quietly and successfully squash any push for LGBT rights or protections and to support the people who would cause great harm to queer Americans. Just because he isn’t the loudest voice in the White House doesn’t mean that he isn’t very dangerous.
Conversion therapy: The practice of trying to change someone’s sexual oritentation from
homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual. The techniques used range from psychoanalysis to electroshock to exorcism.
Ryan White Care Act: the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency
(CARE) Act is a bill passed in 1990 is intended to give federal funding to organizations that provide or improve care to those with HIV
Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Bill: A bill passed in 2009 that extends the definition of a
hate crime and gave authority to local governments to prosecute hate crimes. The bill is named after Matthew Shepard, a gay man tortured and killed for his sexuality in Laramie, Wyoming in 1998.
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell: A policy put in place by Bill Clinton in 1993. The intention was to
end the existing ban on gay people serving in the american millitary, but due to conservative backlash, Clinton had to “compromise”. The subsequent policy allowed LGBT people to serve in the military as long as they stayed in the closet, don’t tell. Superior officers were also prohibited to ask about someone’s sexuality, don’t ask. Queer officers were also not allowed to engage in sexual activity while serving. If an officer broke any of these rules, they would be discharged. The policy was repealed by President Obama in 2010.
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