Man calls Mike Pence “gay” & claims he has “proof” right to his face

An unknown man heckled 2024 GOP presidential candidate Mike Pence at a campaign event in New Hampshire by claiming that the two have a sexual relationship.

“Mike Pence, are you going to tell them? Tell them! You promised today was our coming out day,” the person yelled as Pence talked with gathered reporters as he officially registered as a candidate in the New Hampshire GOP primary at the state secretary of state’s office. “Mike Pence and I are gay. We’re gay! Here’s the proof! Here’s the proof!”

Related:

The gay Irish prime minister called out Mike Pence’s homophobia right in front of him

He said that he isn’t judged for his sexuality, something only possible in countries that love “freedom and liberty.”

“Mike Pence, I’ll admit your John Deere is bigger than mine-” the man continued before he was apparently removed from the area.

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“Mike Pence, are you going to tell them? … You promised today was our Coming Out Day … Mike Pence and I are gay … I'll admit your John Deere is bigger than mine.”

— Mike Pence is heckled before he officially registers for the New Hampshire GOP presidential primary ballot pic.twitter.com/RfaOAweKt9

— The Recount (@therecount) October 13, 2023

Pence, throughout his career as a U.S. congressman, the governor of Indiana, and vice president, has been a solid opponent of LGBTQ+ equality. He supported conversion therapy as part of his 2000 campaign for the House.

In 2004, as a member of the U.S. House, Pence voted for a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality. Justifying his position, he said, “Marriage is the glue of the family and the safest harbor for children.”

When he was a member of the U.S. House, Pence voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have banned employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act multiple times. Pence said that expanding federal hate crimes law to include LGBTQ+ people was part of Barack Obama’s “radical social agenda.”

Pence voted against repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the law that banned gay and bisexual people from serving openly in the military. Pence said, “Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion.”

In fact, Pence’s record in Congress is so anti-LGBTQ+ that he got a score of “O” on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard every single year he was in office.

As governor, he didn’t get much better. In 2013, he said that he was “disappointed” that the Supreme Court overturned part of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex relationships.

“I believe marriage is the union between a man and a woman and is a unique institution worth defending in our state and nation,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

He also repeatedly blocked the passage of a hate crimes law in Indiana. The state is one of only five without hate crime protections for minorities.

As vice president, he has given a keynote address at an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group conference, refused to mention LGBTQ+ people during his World AIDS Day addresses, gave a speech at a conference about “how gender ideology harms children,” and is rumored to be one of the chief architects behind the transgender military ban.

Even this past year, he was joking about how out gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg “took maternity leave” when his children were sick in the hospital.

“When Pete’s two children were born, he took two months maternity leave, whereupon thousands of travelers were stranded in airports, the air traffic system shut down, airplanes nearly collided in midair,” Pence said. Saying Buttigieg went on “maternity” instead of “paternity leave” or “family leave” is a reference to Buttigieg’s sexuality. Many on the right have already told this joke, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and even The National Review.