Post submitted by Ianthe Metzger, Former Press Secretary, State & Local 

HRC is exposing the record of Vice President Mike Pence, who is scheduled to campaign for Michigan U.S. Senate candidate John James in West Bloomfield. James is eagerly accepting support from anti-LGBTQ extremist Mike Pence, and has previously refused to support laws protecting LGBTQ Michiganders from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.

“John James has proven he has no place in the U.S. Senate,” said HRC State Director Amritha Venkataraman. “In a state with 1.1. Million Equality Voters, where a strong majority of citizens support marriage equality and fundamental civil rights, James has nonetheless perplexingly chosen to align with Mike Pence -- an extremist who has made virulent anti-LGBTQ activism the cornerstone of his political career. As they campaign to push their discriminatory, anti-equality agenda, HRC is on the ground mobilizing our hundreds of thousands of members and supporters in Michigan to reject the politics of hate and ensure that pro-equality champion Debbie Stabenow remains in office.”

HRC’s comprehensive “The Real Mike Pence” campaign includes a report, microsite and series of videos that shine a spotlight on Pence’s decades-long crusade against LGBTQ equality, and inside-the-White House efforts leading the Trump-Pence administration’s attacks on LGBTQ people, including those who bravely serve our nation in the military. It lays out his long record of support for the abusive practice of so-called “conversion therapy;” his relentless pursuit of a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people; his attempts to block hate crime legislation and funding for HIV and AIDS prevention; and his efforts to undermine access to health and reproductive care essential to LGBTQ people. He also keeps busy with his extremist agenda by working to undermine science, health, transparency, education, justice and public safety.

Senator Debbie Stabebow is a longtime supporter of LGBTQ equality. She supported marriage equality; the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act; and the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would require school districts to adopt codes of conduct prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and religion. Stabenow is also a co-sponsor of the Equality Act, crucial federal legislation that would finally guarantee explicit, comprehensive protections for LGBTQ people under our nation's civil rights laws.

In Michigan, HRC has identified more than 1.1 million Michiganders as likely “Equality Voters” -- voters who support LGBTQ-inclusive policies. HRC has prioritized investments and organizing in Michigan in the 2018 cycle, and has put staff and resources on the ground in the state as part of the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.