This ‘Mike Pence for President’ website is a true work of art
A website has been launched mocking Mike Penceās rumoured bid to oust Donald Trump.
The Vice President, a hardline opponent of LGBT rights, was recently forced to deny plans to run for President in 2020 in the place of a scandal-plagued and widely disliked Donald Trump.
The denial inevitably only sparked more speculation that Pence would seek to become the GOP candidate.
Following the row, a Pence 2020 website was quietly put online, at OfficialMikePence.com.
The satirical website includes an account of Penceās life, claiming he was born āto wholesome heterosexual couple Edward and Nancy Penceā.
āPence went on to earn a law degree at Indiana University, where he formed a healthy and natural heterosexual attraction to the female woman Karen Pence.ā
Referencing Penceās real-life claim that the Disney film Mulan is liberal propaganda, it adds: āPence advocate for the strong set of values he had come to hold over the years, which he listed as America, Family, Respect, Heterosexual, Self-Determination, Radio, Religious Freedom, Bible, Constitution, and No-Mulan.ā
āWith a political toolbelt equipped with a liberal arts education, legal degree, public radio show, a decade of public service, and strong family values like Bible and No-Mulan, Pence was ready to join Republican Presidential nominee and fellow heterosexual Donald Trump on the 2016 GOP ticket.
āWith the resignation of President Trump now in the past, Pence is excited to look toward the future as the 46th President of the United States of America.ā
A banner on the site adds: āIf you are a homosexual, click hereā, redirecting to hell.com
The website appears to be a creation of Funny or Die, who created several of the videos on the site.
Donald Trump and Mike Pence have pledged their support for the First Amendment Defense Act, which would protect religious people who discriminate against people who are LGBT.
A hardline evangelical who has not supported a single LGBT reform across nearly two decades in politics, VP Pence has one of the worst records on equality of any President or Vice President in recent memory.
The Governor of Indiana stirred up international outrage in 2015 when he signed Indianaās controversial āReligious Freedom Restoration Actā, giving businesses the right to discriminate against gay people on the grounds of religion.
Pence claimed the law was intended to āprotectā organisations from having to provide services for same-sex weddings, saying: āI support the freedom of religion for every Hoosier [Indiana citizen] of every faith.
āThe Constitution of the United States and the Indiana Constitution both provide strong recognition of the freedom of religion but today, many people of faith feel their religious liberty is under attack.ā
Last year appeared unable to answer when asked whether it should be legal to fire people because of their sexuality.
In a clip, Pence was asked: āYes or no: do you believe gay and transgender people should be able to be fired from their jobs just for that reason only?ā
After an awkward ten-second silence, Pence attempted to stall, responding: āItās a great privilege to be your Governor.ā
Fudging a response, he said: āMy position as I expressed in the state of the State address is that we are a state with a constitution, and as you knowā¦ that constitution has very strong safeguards for freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.ā
Just a few months ago Pence confirmed plans to roll back Barack Obamaās executive protections on LGBT rights, so that āthe transgender bathroom issue can be resolved with common sense at the local levelā.
He said: āThis is such an example of an administration that seems to haveā¦ thereās no area of our lives too small for them to want to regulate, no aspect of our constitution too large for them to ignore.
āDonald Trump and I both believe these questions can be resolved with common sense at the local level.ā
āThese issues are resolved in the state of Indiana whenever they come up, and they should be resolved, for the safety and well-being of our children first and foremost, their privacy and rights, and with common sense. Donald Trump and I simply believe all of these issues are best resolved at the state level, by communities.ā
He added: āWashington has no business intruding on the operation of our local schools. Itās just one more example of the heavy hand of this administration, and Donald Trump and I will stand by that common-sense people that when it comes to our kids, and the operation of our schools, those decisions should be made at the local level.
āWashington DC has no business imposing its bill and its values on communities around the nation.ā
Governor Pence previously suggested that HIV prevention funding be drained in order to fund state-sponsored āgay cureā therapy.
On a 2000 Congressional campaign website, he wrote: āCongress should support the reauthorization of the [HIV funding] Ryan White Care Act only after completion of an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organisations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviours that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus. Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour.ā
Decades of proof have not stopped Pence from attempting to rewrite his deeply anti-LGBT record, however.