News flash: Mike Pence is talking face to face with a gay man. Guess he’s an ally now.
That’s the mentality that White House Spokesperson shared with the world yesterday through Twitter. Judd Deere posted on the social media site that U.S. Vice President is currently in Ireland and talking to the Taoiseach (country leader) Leo Varadkar and his husband Dr. Matthew Barrett. This comes after the Irish leader visited Pence and his family at Naval Observatory back in March.
According to Deere, who is gay himself, the very fact that Pence is meeting with the openly gay national leader is proof that Pence is anti-gay. More specifically, he wrote:
“For all of you who still think our @VP is anti-gay, I point you to his and the @SecondLady’s schedule tomorrow where they will join Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett for lunch in Ireland.”
For all of you who still think our @VP is anti-gay, I point you to his and the @SecondLady’s schedule tomorrow where they will join Taoiseach @LeoVaradkar and his partner Dr. Matthew Barrett for lunch in Ireland. 🇮🇪 @merrionstreet pic.twitter.com/Cj5kMpln0U
— Judd Deere 45 Archived (@JuddPDeere45) September 3, 2019
Of course, the rest of Twitter had some words to say about that initial Tweet.
Are you for real?! 🤦🏼♂️
— Bobby (@bobbyberk) September 3, 2019
Here for the ratio! And to make sure you’re aware that this is a trash tweet defending a person responsible for gay men dying from AIDS an causing an HIV outbreak in Indiana because of his hate. Shame on you. And yeah, I know you’re shameless.
— Brian Sims 🌈 (@BrianSimsPA) September 3, 2019
Yeah, where would anyone get the idea that Mike Pence is anti-gay?
Other than his lifelong career of supporting discrimination against LGBT folks?
Trump: "Don't ask that guy — he wants to hang them all!"https://t.co/0e5htmMLRT
— Blue Bee (@Blue_Bee_pllntr) September 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/molly_knight/status/1168709013694889984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1168709013694889984&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fmike-pence-anti-gay-defense_n_5d6e1a92e4b011080453f18a
https://twitter.com/MonicaMitchel10/status/1168692351914713088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1168692351914713088&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fmike-pence-anti-gay-defense_n_5d6e1a92e4b011080453f18a
Wow, he agreed to meet a head of state? Bar’s pretty low and he still supports discrimination. Tell me he supports marriage equality, then we’ll talk.
— Michelangelo Signorile (@MSignorile) September 3, 2019
— shauna (@goldengateblond) September 3, 2019
While yes, Mike Pence is willing to work with one or two gay men (and probably a few more), that doesn’t make up for Pence’s anti-gay political career. Back when he was still the governor of Indiana, Pence signed a religious freedom law to forgive and excuse anti-LGBTQ discrimination. That law then paved the way for the Trump administration’s ongoing Religious Freedom Crusade.
Also while acting as governor, Pence enabled an HIV Outbreak in the state of Indiana. Pence fought against Planned Parenthood and closed down one in Scott County, which also happened to be the one and only HIV testing center in the county. Thanks to the rise of the opioid crisis and shared needles to inject drugs, HIV infection was also on the rise. It got to the point that 20 new case of HIV were diagnosed weekly, according to the Huffington Post. Pence then later decided to allow a needle exchange, so the public could have access to new syringes and stop using/sharing old ones, after public scrutiny of him increased.
But that’s not all. In addition, Pence supported a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage back when he was a member of Congress. He also stated that same-sex marriage was a sign of “societal collapse,” warned against the “mainstreaming of homosexuality in the military” after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was repealed, and expressed his support of conversion therapy.
Even Leo Varadkar specifically spoke about the need for Christians to accept homosexuality while at the lunch-in with the Pences in March.
“I lived in a country where, if I tried to be myself at the time, I would have ended up breaking laws,” he said. “But today that has all changed. I stand here leader of my country, flawed and human, but judged by my political actions and not my sexual orientation, my skin tone, gender, or religious beliefs.”
“We are, after all, all God’s children,” he added.
While Mike Pence may be willing to work with LGBTQ people if they’re the leaders of other nations or workers in his office, his political record and agenda is certainly anti-gay.
Sources: Huffington Post
