Mike Pence vice presidential campaign, 2016/LGBTQ rights
The overview of the issue below was current as of the 2016 election.
A great deal can change in four years. In February 2012, nine months before the 2012 presidential general election, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that California's Proposition 8, the state's ban on same-sex marriage, was unconstitutional. In February and March 2012, Washington and Maryland became the seventh and eighth states to legalize same-sex marriage. And in May 2012, while running for a second term, President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage.
The LGBTQ rights landscape was quite different in 2016. Same-sex marriage became legal throughout the country on June 26, 2015. On that day the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The court held that same-sex marriage is protected under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.
On March 23, 2016, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) signed into law a bill that prohibits transgender individuals from using a bathroom that does not match their gender at birth.[1] In reaction, the Departments of Education and Justice issued a directive on May 13, 2016, stating that transgender students must be afforded the right to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identities under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities. The administration directed schools across the country to treat transgender students the same way they treat other students of the same gender identity.[2] In response to the directive, nearly half of the states filed suit against the Obama administration challenging its use of Title IX to protect transgender students.[3]
In 2016, voters and candidates were also debating some states' religious freedom laws and the need to clarify language that purports to permit businesses to deny services to LGBTQ individuals.
Donald Trump and Mike Pence
Donald Trump, who won the general election on November 8, 2016, has a complicated track record on LGTBQ issues. He was initially critical of North Carolina's law on transgender bathroom access, saying in April 2016, "North Carolina did something that was very strong and they’re paying a big price. There’s a lot of problems. You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate, there has been so little trouble."[4] The next month, however, after the Obama administration issued guidance directing public schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms matching their gender identity, Trump said, "I believe it should be states’ rights and the state should make the decision. They’re more capable of making the decision."[5] On the topic of same-sex marriage, Trump stated in June 2015 that he was "for traditional marriage" but in 2013 stated, "I think I’m evolving, and I think I’m a very fair person, but I have been for traditional marriage."[6][7]
Mike Pence, Trump's running mate, was at the center of a controversy about protecting religious rights and protecting the rights of LGTBQ Americans in 2015. On March 26, 2015, Pence signed Senate Bill 101, better known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), into law.[8][9] The law "prohibits a governmental entity from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless the governmental entity can demonstrate that the burden: (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering the compelling governmental interest."[8] Supporters of the bill said it would prevent the government from forcing business owners to act against religious beliefs, while opponents said it allowed for discrimination against LGBTQ citizens.[9]
Pence was critical of the Obama administration's directive on transgender bathroom access and supported Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy that prohibited soldiers from openly identifying as gay until it was ended in 2011. Pence told CNN in 2010 that without the policy, the military could become “a backdrop for social experimentation.”[10]
See what Mike Pence and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about LGBTQ rights.
Pence on LGBTQ rights
- In response to the directive issued by the Obama administration on May 13, 2016, stating that transgender public school students must be afforded the right to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identities, Pence said, “The federal government has no business getting involved in issues of this nature.”[10]
- Pence supported Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the policy that prohibited soldiers from openly identifying as gay until it was ended in 2011. Pence told CNN in 2010 that without the policy, the military could become “a backdrop for social experimentation.”[10]
- In 2007, Pence voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a law to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. He said the law “wages war on freedom and religion in the workplace.”[10]
- In 2006, Mike Pence voted for H.J.Res.88 - the Marriage Protection Amendment, which proposed declaring "that: (1) marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman; and (2) neither the U.S. Constitution nor the constitution of any state shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon any other union."[11]
- In 2006, Pence supported a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Pence said in a speech that cited a Harvard researcher, “societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family.” Pence also said that being gay is a choice and that preventing gay couples from marrying was not discrimination, but a means of enforcing "God's idea."[10]
| The 2016 Republican Party Platform on LGBTQ rights | ||||||
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Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Mike + Pence + LGBTQ + Rights
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ The News & Observer, "NC lawmakers heading for special session Wednesday to discuss LGBT ordinance," accessed March 23, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, "Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students," May 13, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "10 more states sue Obama administration over transgender bathroom directive," July 8, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Donald Trump Thinks North Carolina Got It Wrong On Anti-LGBT Bathroom Bill," April 21, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Trump: Transgender people can use whatever bathroom they want," April 21, 2016
- ↑ MSNBC, "Trump says he’s ‘evolving’ on gay marriage," November 9, 2013
- ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump on CNN's State of the Union: 'I'm in it to win it...I will make our country great again'," June 28, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Indiana General Assembly, "Senate Bill 101," accessed April 15, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Reuters, "Indiana governor signs religious freedom bill that could affect gays," March 26, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 TIME, "Here’s What Mike Pence Said on LGBT Issues Over the Years," July 15, 2016
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.J.Res.88," accessed April 2, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Republican Party, "The 2016 Republican Party Platform," accessed August 23, 2016
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