The right-leaning Washington Times is reporting today that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has a “95 percent” chance of being tapped to run as Donald Trump’s running mate for the White House.
A campaign rally in Indianapolis has been hastily added to the Trumpster’s schedule, and several sources close to the Trump campaign are telling the Times they believe Pence is the pick.
You’ll recall the backlash Pence suffered when he tried to legalize anti-LGBT discrimination in his state. It was a withering defeat that left Pence embarrassed. And his retreat on the issue bruised his reputation with anti-gay conservatives.
In his State of the State address last night, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he plans to put religious freedom issues over anti-discrimination policies for LGBTs.
The Republican governor said in his half-hour televised State of the State speech before legislators that no one should be mistreated because of “who they love or what they believe.” But he also said that “no one should ever fear persecution because of their deeply held religious beliefs.”
“I will not support any bill that diminishes the religious freedom of Hoosiers or interferes with the constitutional rights of our citizens to live out their beliefs in worship, service or work,” Pence said.
Major business leaders across the state were NOT impressed.
Speaking for the group Indiana Competes, which represents prominent state business interests, Peter Hansom said,“We were looking for a moment of leadership, and what we got is a shoulder shrug.”
• The ironically named National Organization for Marriage asks all GOP presidential candidates to sign a pledge to promising to support a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
• After Indiana’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” debacle only 32% of voters support his re-election.
Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana made it all the way to the Top 10 List on David Letterman last night as Dave listed “The Top Ten Guys Indiana Governor Mike Pence Looks Like.”
At a Tuesday morning press conference, Gov. Pence announced plans to amend the law before the end of the week. He added the changes will clearly state that RFRA is about “religious liberty, not discrimination,” adding the the law does not give anyone the right to turn away customers on religious grounds.
The odd take-away from the press conference was that the Governor plans to “fix” a law that he claims is not broken.
Blaming the national media for “sloppy reporting,” a beleagured Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana admitted the state’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” has caused a huge headache for the state and a terrible “perception problem.”
Pence said he concluded that it is necessary to move legislation to amend the law to make it clear that it does not give businesses the right to deny services to anyone.
“This law does not give anyone the right to discriminate. This law does not give anyone the right to deny services,” said the governor.
“I don’t support discrimination against gays and lesbians or anyone else. I abhor discrimination.”
That being said, the governor indicated that adding sexual orientation to the state’s civil rights laws was not on the table right now.
Pence said he will work with the Indiana legislature this week to make the changes he is seeking to the RFRA law.
“We will fix this and we will move forward,” he said.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence made a disasterous appearance on ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos to “clarify” his state’s new bill which has been called a “license to discriminate” against LGBT folks.
It’s almost painful to watch as George repeatedly asks for a yes or no answer to the question: does this new law make it legal for a florist to refuse to serve a gay couple? At least three times, Pence pivoted away from the question and refused to address it.
George asked if adding LGBT folks to the state’s civil rights protected classes might be an avenue the state could take to “prove” the law isn’t about discriminating against gays? Pence said that wasn’t on his agenda.
Finally, at the 9:52 mark, George asks flat-out (easy answer here, kids): “Governor, do you think it should be legal to discriminate against gays and lesbians in Indiana?”
Pence takes a long pause – that was where he should have said “No, of course not!” – and pivoted away from the question one last time.
Pence simply couldn’t bring himself to answer the question. Over and over and over again.
This appearance didn’t help his cause in any way. Watch the supercut of his appearance showing the 8 times he refused to say whether the law discriminated against gays and lesbians. You can watch the full interview here.
After a week of scorching backlash over the passage of Indiana’s “license to discriminate” law – SB101 – Gov Mike Pence has announced he intends to file new legislation to “clarify” the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Pence says he didn’t anticipate the “hostility” that has been leveled at the state over the anti-gay legislation. He declined to provide details about the upcoming “clarification” but said that making LGBT Indiana residents a protected legal class is “not on my agenda.”
Pence said repeatedly that the intense blowback against the new law is the result of a “misunderstanding driven by misinformation,” and disputes the law allows state-sanctioned anti-LGBT discrimination.
Freedom Indiana finds Pence’s response a bit on the disingenuous side, as campaign manager Katie Blair issued the following statement:
“You can’t ‘clarify’ discrimination. Indiana now has billions of dollars and thousands of jobs on the line, all because the Governor wouldn’t stop this dangerous bill. He has a second chance to save our reputation for Hoosier hospitality, but he has to stand up and protect LGBT Hoosiers.
“Discrimination is not a core Hoosier value, and we can’t afford to let our state continue to suffer. Please, Governor, listen to the voices of common sense and reason trying to get through to you. Fix the bill to protect all Hoosiers, and make it clear our state is open for business again.”
HRC’s Chad Griffin chimed in via Twitter:
.@GovPenceIN If IN truly doesn’t discriminate, prove it. Protect your LGBT citizens truly at risk like other states do. @JohnRussell99 — Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) March 29, 2015
And Lambda Legal offered this bit of free advice:
.@GovPenceIN if you really meant Indy’s #RFRA isn’t about discrimination, it can easily be fixed in 2 steps by adding this language: — Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) March 29, 2015
This chapter doesn’t establish or eliminate a defense 2 a claim under any fed/state/local law protecting civil rights or preventing discrim — Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) March 29, 2015
And include gay and transgender people within Indiana’s protections for discrimination. — Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) March 29, 2015
As anti-gay legislation in Indiana – SB 101 – heads to Gov. Mike Pence’s desk, George Takei called for a boycott of the state should the bill become law:
The Governor of Indiana has indicated that he will sign SB101—a law that allows businesses to discriminate against customers based on the proprietors’ religious beliefs. This bill is strikingly similar to one proposed—and vetoed due to public outcry—in Arizona. Such laws harken back to a time where our society was divided, and people of color were banned from white establishments. That is not our nation any longer, and those are not our values.
To the governor and to the legislators in Indiana who support this backward-looking and divisive bill, I say to you this: If it goes into effect, Indiana will be marked as a state where certain people are not welcome, and so we will not visit. We will not spend. And we will not attend events, including GenCon, the world’s largest gaming convention, held in Indianapolis each year. Many fans here are gamers, Governor Pence, and we will demand the convention move out of your state.
Fans, friends and especially you gamers, let Governor Pence know how you feel about this bill. Give him a call: 317-232-4567.
