Pride supporters and celebrators welcomed Vice President Mike Pence home to Columbus, Ohio on Friday. The welcome party they threw in his honor was called “Big LGBTQ Dance Party”, and coincided with the kickoff of Columbus’ Pride Festival. As you can imagine, this isn’t the type of party Pence would choose for himself. It was not violent in any way however, and was supported by a few simple goals.
The primary goal was to counter any sort of “anti-LGBTQ attitude that they have with a big, positive, loving dance party”. Organizers of the dance wanted to call attention to Pence’s record on gay rights, as well as to “offer broad support for the LGBT community, and especially for those who are struggling with their sexual orientation identity or their gender identity.”
Pence was returning to Columbus for a talk on tax reform, where crowds assembled, on none other than Gay street. Videos show participants dancing and raising flags, loud music blaring. This isn’t the first time this tactic has been used to get Pence’s attention.
His stance on LGBTQ+ rights is widely known to be pretty antiquated. Here are some examples. In 2006 Pence said gay couples “signaled societal collapse”. In 2007, he opposed a law that would prohibit discrimination against LBTQ folks in the workplace. He opposed the repeal of don’t ask don’t tell, and rejected an Obama administration directive on transgender bathrooms, saying “The federal government has not business getting involved in issues of this nature.” Last but not least, Mike Pence once supported the use of federal funding to “treat” people who are “seeking to change their sexual behavior”. Hence, the widespread talk of Pence supporting conversion therapy.
For people in these communities, even ideas like this are extremely harmful, especially coming from someone who holds as much power as the Vice President, and if you consider the racism that seems to permeate the white house these days, the dangers are even higher for LGBTQ people of color and other minorities. The dance party in Columbus is a way of stepping in front of the lens, showing lawmakers and people with a platform that we are here, and we aren’t going anywhere. At the very least, these dances and demonstrations give hope to people in the community, including people who may not be completely comfortable with their identity yet, and don’t feel safe in the toxic environment created and run by bigots.
