A mom has confronted Mike Pence over his LGBTQ+ policies after he claimed "radical gender ideology" had "taken hold in too many public schools."
The former vice president was challenged by Melissa McCollister, a professor of social work, during a NewsNation town hall moderated by Leland Vittert in Chicago. Pence has been on the campaign trail in early primary states as he looks to bolster support for his 2024 Republican nominee campaign. Pence was discussing policies that require teachers to refer to students by their preferred pronouns and gender identities, rules that vary from state to state.
McCollister, who was in tears as she appeared via video link from Des Moines, Iowa, told the former VP she is an "LGBTQ member" and has trans individuals in her family, going on to question what Pence would do to protect LGBTQ+ people.
"Recent anti-LGBTQ bills have been signed into law all around this United States, including here in Iowa. So far, in 2023, 15 transgender individuals and gender-nonconforming people have been murdered. The vast majority of those people have been Black and Latinx transgender women." Newsweek has at this stage been unable to verify the number and the ethnicities of transgender people killed in Iowa so far this year.
She continued: "It is very hard for me to ask these questions after just hearing what I heard. What is your policy plan to protect the transgender community, specifically Black and brown trans women from historically high levels of violence?"
Pence said he was "deeply grieved" to hear about the "tragic circumstances" McCollister mentioned, before referring to his evangelical Christian beliefs.
"I have particular views of these matters and you have a different view of those, perhaps, but I want you to know I believe in the freedom of religion, I believe in the freedom of conscience, I believe in the right of every American to live, to work, to worship according to the dictates of their conscience and I'll respect that, he continued.
"For me, what adults do in their lives, decisions that they make, including transgender adults, is one thing, but for kids under the age of 18—there's a reason why we don't let you drive 'til you're 16. In the state of Indiana, you can't get a tattoo until after you're 18, you can't drink until after you're 21, that's because we understand that kids don't fully understand the consequences of their actions."
He went on to say that he believes "we've got to protect our kids from decisions that will affect them in the balance of their lives" while also giving space to adults making decisions "according to the dictates of their own conscience."
When asked by Vittart for her thoughts on his response, McCollister said that in 2020 she was " threatened with KKK and Xs on my doorstep" due to her starting an LGBTQ+ youth support group in Terra Haute, Indiana. She also said she had raised a transgender child herself, and "worked with kids as young as five years old that have gender-nonconforming and identities that are transgender."
She continued: "And so to hear somebody tell me that it's not okay for young children to make decisions about their gender identity and to ask their school officials for support, protection, and help is appalling."
Newsweek has contacted the Mike Pence for President campaign via the contact form on its website for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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