Last week, Donald Trump announced that his running mate would be Mike Pence, governor of Indiana. Pence has a history of taking legislative measures that are are terrible for women, the LGBT community, low income families, etc.. As if associating himself so closely with Trump wasn’t already the perfect way to kill a political career and reputation (that, let’s face it, wasn’t stellar to begin with), here are five reasons why Pence is bad for women/ a terrible human.
1. He thinks Mulan is a valid reason why women don’t belong in the military: Much like Trump’s campaign, this would be absolutely hilarious if it weren’t true and if this man wasn’t a serious candidate for as next Vice President. In an op-ed, first reported by Buzzfeed, Pence said, “Despite her delicate features and voice, Disney expects us to believe that Mulan’s ingenuity and courage were enough to carry her to military success on an equal basis with her cloddish cohorts. Obviously, this is Walt Disney’s attempt to add childhood expectation to the cultural debate over the role of women in the military. I suspect that some mischievous liberal at Disney assumes that Mulan’s story will cause a quiet change in the next generation’s attitude about women in combat and they just might be right.”
2. He is against LGBTQ rights: He co-sponsored an amendment in 2003 that would have banned same-sex marriage. In 2007, he voted against the Employee-Non-Discrimination Act, an act that aims to protect against discrimination targeted towards sexual orientation. He voted against the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. And in March 2015, he signed a bill that permits business owners to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers because of religious belief. His policy action speaks for itself.
3. He has taken measures to make getting an abortion more difficult: Just a few months ago, Pence signed a law that expands abortion restrictions in Indiana. Basically, this measure prohibits women from choosing to have an abortion due to disability, gender, or race of the fetus. “I sign this legislation with a prayer that God would continue to bless these precious children, mothers and families,” said Pence.
4. He has taken funding from Panned Parenthood: Pence pushed for the passing of an amendment in 2011 to defund Planned Parenthood. This amendment was what kick started a surge in measures taken across the nation to take funding from Planned Parenthood. A federal judge blocked the law, but when Pence became the governor if Indiana in 2013, his mission against Planned Parenthood continued as he slashed funding more and more. From 200502014, funding had been nearly cut in half. In 2015, Scott County, Indiana became a major hub of a massive HIV outbreak.
5. He most definitely isn’t a proponent of increasing minimum wage: According to Media Matters, Pence congregated Republican State House opposition to a proposal that aimed to increase the minimum wage of Indiana. Before this, he signed legislation “prohibit[ing] local governments from requiring businesses [to] pay a higher minimum wage, or offer any working condition or benefit, such as paid sick leave, if it’s not mandated by state or federal law.” Of course, upping the minimum effects more than just women, but considering 2/3 of minimum wage employees in this country are women, it’s a big fucking deal.
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