Former Vice President Mike Pence delivered a polarizing speech at the Family Research Council’s Pray Vote Stand Summit, where he expressed staunch anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-abortion positions. Pence expressed solidarity with Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has been blocking Senate approval of over 300 military promotions to protest military policies related to abortion access.
In his address, Pence condemned the military’s pro-abortion policies, including their efforts to assist servicemembers stationed in states with restrictive anti-abortion policies in accessing abortions in other states. This protest by Senator Tuberville has left the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps without confirmed leaders for the first time in 164 years. Pence declared, “Tuberville is right, and the Pentagon is wrong.”
Pence also outlined his presidential aspirations, pledging to direct the Department of Defense to stop using taxpayer dollars to undermine pro-life laws in various states. He further advocated for a national 15-week abortion ban and committed to appointing more anti-abortion judges and justices.
Beyond his anti-abortion stance, Pence targeted trans youth, vowing to end “the radical left’s assault on our kids” and reject transgender ideology in schools. He pledged to withdraw funding from hospitals offering gender-affirming care to trans youth and insisted that athletes should compete based solely on their sex assigned at birth. Pence labeled trans acceptance as a “tragedy” and “self-loathing ideology.”
The Family Research Council, led by evangelical leader Tony Perkins, is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The organization is accused of promoting false claims about the LGBTQ+ community, relying on discredited research and junk science, with the aim to dehumanize LGBTQ+ individuals as it fights against LGBTQ+ rights. Pence’s address underscored his alignment with these controversial views, setting the stage for a contentious political landscape in the coming years.
