From: NewNowNext
Last night was the first (and only) debate between the Republican and Democratic candidates for Vice President. And while Tim Kaine and Mike Pence could have ended up fielding questions about 3am tweets, tax returns and secret email servers at Virginia’s Longwood University, it was expected that LGBT rights would have been addressed, as well.
Below, we gave moderator Elaine Quijano a short-list of some pressing questions.
1.
Do you support “religious freedom” laws that allow businesses to discriminate against LGBT people and others?
As governor, Mike Pence signed Indiana’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” into law, granting individuals and businesses the right to discriminate against LGBT people in the workplace, housing and elsewhere.
“The legislation… is about respecting and reassuring Hoosiers that their religious freedoms are intact,” Pence said at the time. “I strongly support the legislation and applaud the members of the General Assembly for their work.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) has already made it clear that he supports protections for the LGBT community (he voted for ENDA), but it would be good to get him on the record about the so-called “religious freedom” laws popping up across the country
2.
Would you support efforts to overturn the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling?
In 2000, Donald Trump told the Advocate that, though he backed civil unions, “the institution of marriage should be between a man and a woman.” He told Bill O’Reilly in 2011, “I don’t feel right about it… I’m opposed to gay marriage.”
And this January he told Fox News he would favor putting justices on the Supreme Court who would overturn Obergefell v. Hodges: “If I’m elected, I would be very strong on putting certain judges on the bench that I think maybe could change things.”
Of course, Hillary Clinton was slow to warm to same-sex marriage, too. (She opposed it during the 2008 presidential election.) But she’s been an unequivocal supporter since 2013, when she declared “LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones. And they are full and equal citizens, and they deserve the rights of citizenship—including marriage.”
Earlier this year, she declared “The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality represents America at its best: just, fair and moving toward equality.”
So, how do the VPs stack up?
In 2006, Pence supported a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. “Societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family,” he insisted, adding that because people choose to be gay, denying them the right to marry isn’t discrimination.
Back in 2001, Senator Kaine avoided taking a stand on marriage equality, telling the AP, “I have never said I supported gay civil unions, gay marriages.” But, by 2006, he opposed Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. (It passed anyway.)
It wasn’t until 2013, his first year in the Senate, he announced his full support for marriage equality: “I believe all people, regardless of sexual orientation, should be guaranteed equal rights, including the legal benefits and responsibilities of marriage.”
3.
Would you support legislation or an executive order granting transgender Americans the right to use facilities that align with their gender identity?
In May, Governor Pence joined other Republicans in condemning President Obama for sending guidelines directing public schools nationwide to respect the needs of trans students.
“Policies regarding the security and privacy of students in our schools should be in the hands of Hoosier parents and local schools, not bureaucrats in Washington, DC,” he stated. “The federal government has no business getting involved in issues of this nature.”
Still, Indiana is not currently one of the states suing the Departments of Justice and Education over Obama’s directive.
3.
Do you agree with your running mate’s stance on immigration?
Quijano is the daughter of immigrants herself, so you can almost guarantee the issue will be raised. And immigration is a crucial issue for our community: Around the world, LGBT people are subject to harassment, discrimination and even violence.
A workable road map to citizenship—and compassionate asylum provisions—are the only hope many have.
Donald Trump has made his feelings pretty clear. But does Governor Pence support building a wall across the Mexican border? In December, he declared he’d bar all Muslims from immigrating to the United States.
At the time Pence condemned his proposal as “offensive and unconstitutional,” but now that Trump has “moderated” his plan, saying he favored a temporary ban on immigrants from “from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism,” Pence is on board.
“I am very supportive of Donald Trump’s call to temporarily suspend immigration from countries where terrorist influence and impact represents a threat to the United States,” Pence told Sean Hannity this summer. “I believe that’s an appropriate action given the horrendous, horrendous violence that we see.”
What would Pence do with LGBT people fleeing those countries, where they face beheading or stoning?
Senator Kaine, meanwhile, has promised Clinton would push a bill to legalize illegal immigrants in “the first 100 days” of her presidency. (How much power Kaine or Clinton would have to force Congress on the issue is debatable.)
As Senator, he supported the DREAM Act and voted in favor of the most recent immigration reform bill to pass the senate, addressing the senate floor in a speech in fluent Spanish.
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