Pence is even worse than you think: a long, disastrous record of opposing LGBT rights

Mike Pence is even worse than you think: Trump’s VP pick has a long, disastrous record of opposing LGBT rights

The "religious liberty" governor earns a 0 from the Human Rights Campaign and voted against hate crimes prevention

NICO LANG

Mike Pence won’t say whether he believes it’s OK to discriminate against LGBT people. The Indiana governor was repeatedly asked about his stance on the issue during a 2015 interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.” Stephanopoulos posed the question eight times. Pence wouldn’t say. More recently, he was asked the question during a town hall on February 11. “In a simple yes or no answer, do you believe that gay and transgender people should be able to be fired from their jobs just for that reason?” an audience member inquired.

He offered yet another trademark non-answer. “It’s a great privilege for me to be your governor,” Pence said, adding that he “will not support legislation that diminishes religious freedom.”

But for anyone familiar with Pence’s record on LGBT people, you don’t need to ask: The Tea Party favorite, who Donald Trump announced on Twitter Friday would be his running mate, has one of the most virulently anti-gay records of any government official. Although Pence made headlines last year for passing legislation that would allow businesses to deny services to people based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Indiana governor has a long history of opposing LGBT equality under the guise of religious freedom and family values.

Mike Pence, who also built his career on restricting abortion rights, is a bad choice for LGBT people — and everyone else.

Pence became a national lightning rod in 2015 for signing into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the first domino in a wave of “religious liberty” bills introduced nationwide. (Mississippi’s House Bill 1523, passed in March, was recently overturned by a federal court.) RFRA was an economic disaster for the state, with 12 conventions pulling out of Indiana in protest of the law. A study from the Center for American Progress estimated that the bill’s passage took a $250 million toll on the state.

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http://www.salon.com/2016/07/16/mike_pence_is_even_worse_than_you_think_trumps_vp_pick_has_a_long_disastrous_record_of_opposing_lgbt_rights/