{"id":505905,"date":"2016-11-29T15:51:44","date_gmt":"2016-11-29T15:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glaad.logalt.net\/tap\/mike-pompeo\/"},"modified":"2023-04-21T22:29:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T22:29:50","slug":"mike-pompeo","status":"publish","type":"gap","link":"https:\/\/glaad.org\/gap\/mike-pompeo\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Pompeo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014Praised<\/a> Russian President Vladimir Putin as \u201csmart and cunning and capable,\u201d in an interview with the Des Moines Register<\/em>, hours before Russia invaded Ukraine.<\/em> Pompeo also praised<\/a> Putin in a call with the Center for the National Interest saying<\/a>, \u201cI have enormous respect for him\u2026 I\u2019ve been criticized for saying that.\u201d And he told Fox News: \u201cHe\u2019s a very talented statesman. He has lots of gifts. He was a KGB agent, for goodness\u2019 sakes. He knows how to use power. We should respect that.\u201d Pompeo is the only former Secretary of State to praise Putin who signed legislation<\/a> in 2013 to ban the \u201cpromotion of nontraditional sexual relations to minors,\u201d which, writes Human Rights Watch, is \u201ca reference universally understood to mean a ban on providing children access to information about LGBT people\u2019s lives\u2026 The law has been used to shut down websites that provide valuable information and services to teens across Russia and to bar LGBT support groups from working with youth. But the law\u2019s effects have been much broader: individual mental health professionals have curtailed what they say and what support they give to students, and the law gives the strong imprimatur of the Russian state to the false and discriminatory view that LGBT people are a threat to tradition and the family\u2026 Its passage coincided with an uptick in often-gruesome vigilante violence against LGBT people in Russia\u2014frequently carried out in the name of protecting Russian values and Russia\u2019s children.\u201d Putin signed legislation in 2021 to constitutionally<\/a> ban same-sex marriage in Russia.\u2014The Commission on Inalienable Rights, an agency formed by Pompeo at the State Department that promotes \u201cnatural law,\u201d language used by far right groups to discriminate agaisnt LGBTQ people, produced<\/a> a report that elevates religious freedom over LGBTQ rights and calls same-sex marriage a \u201cdivisive\u201d \u201ccontroversy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Prohibited<\/a> embassies from flying Pride flags.<\/p>\n

\u2014Canceled<\/a> a planned speech at the CIA about diversity and LGBTQ rights set to be given by Judy and Dennis Shepard, founders of the Matthew Shepard Foundation<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u2014Consulted<\/a> with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council<\/a>, an anti-LGBTQ hate group.<\/p>\n

\u2014Opposed<\/a> repeal of \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell,\u201d suggesting that \u201cwhen you enter the army you give up a few of your rights.\u201d Also said<\/a> of DADT repeal, \u201cWe cannot use military to promote social ideas that do not reflect the values of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Decried<\/a> the US Supreme Court\u2019s 2015 ruling granting marriage equality to all 50 states as \u201ca shocking abuse of power\u201d that \u201cflies in the face of centuries of shared understanding of our Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Has vowed<\/a> to continue his fight against abortion, marriage equality, and related matters \u201ceach and every day\u201d: \u201cAs a Kansan, I hold a deep reverence for the sanctity of life, the solidarity of family, and the solemnity of marriage. I will continue the fight to uphold these fundamental ideals each and every day. I am, and always will be, pro-life and will defend life from conception to natural death. I will continue to oppose any taxpayer funding for abortion. I also fully support the traditional institution of marriage. Strong families are the most important building block of our Republic, and we must preserve them for the sake of our community and our culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Co-sponsored two bills, the State Marriage Defense Act<\/a> and the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act<\/a>, both designed to undermine the effects of court rulings on marriage equality.<\/p>\n

\u2014Denounced<\/a> the Supreme Court rulings that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California\u2019s Proposition 8 as \u201cboth sad and counter to the most profound tradition of our great nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014His campaign once sent a tweet<\/a> promoting the view that Pompeo\u2019s (Indian-American) opponent is a \u201cturban topper\u201d who \u201ccould be a muslim, a hindu, a buddhist etc who knows.\u201d [sic] The campaign later apologized.<\/p>\n

\u2014Insists<\/a> families with same-sex parents are less \u201cideal\u201d: \u201cI think as you look back at civilization, look back at history, you find the strength of these families having a father and a mother is the ideal condition for childbearing,\u201d Pompeo said. \u201cDoesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t great families with single parents, great young men and women raised without either parent. If you\u2019re asking for what is ideal, I think it\u2019s being raised by a man and a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Joined<\/a> the most conservative House Republicans on a letter calling on the Department of Defense to stop allowing military facilities for private functions to be used on a sexual-orientation neutral basis.<\/p>\n

\u2014Falsely claimed<\/a> (starts 9:16) that \u201cthe silence of Muslim leaders has been deafening\u201d in response to the Boston bombing, and suggested Islamic leaders were \u201cpotentially complicit\u201d for not loudly enough condemning acts of terror.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":343,"featured_media":505906,"template":"","categories":[138754],"tags":[],"region":[138565],"hashtag":[138632,138637,138634],"class_list":{"0":"post-505905","1":"gap","2":"type-gap","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"category-gaps","7":"region-national","8":"hashtag-politics","9":"hashtag-religion","10":"hashtag-trump"},"aioseo_notices":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t