Los Angeles – In response to reports that presidential candidate Donald Trump has chosen Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate, Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur issued the following statement:
“Given the overt racism, sexism, xenophobia and Islamophobia expressed by Donald Trump in his campaign for the White House, his choice of Mike Pence is not surprising. Pence is one of the most LGBT-phobic figures on the national stage. In fact, it was his targeting of the LGBT community with discriminatory laws that earned him a national spotlight in the first place.
As a congressman, Pence never met a piece of anti-LGBT legislation that he did not like. He supported the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and when it was ruled unconstitutional, he favored amending the state constitution to bar same-sex couples from marrying. He opposed the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He voted against hate crimes legislation and even opposed refunding the Ryan White Care Act only if ‘federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus.’ And as governor, Pence last year signed and defended Indiana’s so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act in spite of opposition from a majority of Hoosiers and threats by major corporations to leave the state.
Pence has reveled in a record of opposing any protections for LGBT people and of supporting efforts to allow outright discrimination. He represents a dangerous but depressingly predictable choice for Trump’s running mate. Every LGBT person in America – and everyone who believes in fairness and equality for LGBT people — should worry if he is placed a heartbeat away from the Oval Office. This is just one more reason why electing Hillary Clinton as President of the United States needs to be one of our community’s highest priorities.”