By this point, it's pretty clear that Donald Trump is bad news for the LGBT+ community. He has stated many times that he plans to appoint judges to overturn the marriage equality ruling. Conversion therapy for LGBT+ youth is also now a part of the Republican Party platform. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that Trump's running-mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, is just as bad, if not worse, for the LGBT+ community.
1. Pence signed Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law.
Remember that horrific law in Indiana that legally allowed businesses to refuse service to people based on their sexuality by claiming it was against their religious beliefs? Guess who was responsible for that? None other than Gov. Mike Pence.
2. He opposed The Matthew Shepherd And James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Pence was an outspoken opponent of the 2009 Act which expanded federal hate crime legislation to include violence against the LGBT+ community. He blasted President Obama for using the act to "advance a radical social agenda" and claimed that he believed the act would limit free speech.
3. Pence did not want "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to be repealed.
Pence adamantly rejected the idea of openly gay men and women serving in the armed forces. In 2010, he told CNN that he did not want to see the military become, "a backdrop for social experimentation."
4. He opposes transgender students using the bathrooms that match their gender identity.
In May 2016, when the Obama administration issued a directive that public schools must allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity or risk loosing their funding, Pence responded by saying, "The federal government has no business getting involved in issues of this nature."
5. He has a weak stance on HIV/AIDS.
In 2000, Pence suggested that money that was going to be used to fund a support program for those with HIV/AIDS should be repurposed and used to fund and organization that "provides assistance for those seeking to change their sexual behavior." If this language seems confusing, he suggested that money should be taken away from a facility that provided treatment for HIV/AIDS and be used to fund conversion therapy centers. He also suggested that needle exchange programs, which have proven to reduce the spread of HIV, encourage drug use.
6. He believes that gay people are a sign of societal collapse.
During a 2006 speech in support of a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman, Pence said, "Societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family." In this speech, he also said that being gay is a choice, and that opposing marriage equality is carrying out "God's will."
7. He opposed a law that would prevent workplace discrimination for LGBT+ people.
In 2007, Pence voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act that would have banned workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Pence claimed the law, "wages war on freedom and religion in the workplace." A similar law was later passed in Indiana.
