He opposes gay marriage, and as Indiana governor, he signed legislation allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ people.
But when South Bend mayor and Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg called him out on it, Pence complained his religion was under attack. Read story here.
Look, Mr. Vice President, we don’t care what your religious beliefs are. You can worship empty Budweiser cans if you want to. This is public policy we’re talking about. This has to do with how people treat other people in public encounters. That’s a legitimate societal interest, not an intrusion into your personal beliefs.
It’s one thing to be privately prejudiced against a group of people based on your misinterpretation of the Bible. (No, I really don’t think your particular set of beliefs would fly with Jesus, who preached tolerance; and I suspect He’d regard your using His name to justify your bigotry as twisted to say the least.) Under our Constitution, you can believe anything you want to.
But it’s a different story when you try to implant your personal prejudices in public policy and laws. That’s what Buttigieg is confronting you about. He’s not attacking your religion, he’s taking issue with your public policy positions.
Why do Republicans have so much trouble separating their private beliefs from public policy and society’s interest in everyone getting along?
So stop playing the victim, Mike. You’re no victim. You’re a perpetrator of intolerance, bigotry, and hate.
Artwork from New Yorker or someplace; reproduced here under fair use authority.
Problem is this is about public policy in the State of Indiana. Pence has not been Governor for some time now. It did take the votes of many of the states legislators to put the legislation on his desk. In order to confront in a manner to change things in the state those are the folks Mr. Buttgieg needs to confront. Also he may need to confront one of the biggest employers in South Bend if he is really going to take a stand about these state laws.
Politicians do not leave their personal beliefs and religion at the door and separate all this when deciding to sign legislation put on their desk by the legislature. Even a Governor of Indiana who disagreed with both of those bills on personal belief may well have signed those bills in Indiana, as the name of the game is to get reelected or get elected in the next political race, and Pence has done that.
Buttigieg is just giving Pence a soap box to stand on, and he should be more concerned about the folks in Iowa and New Hampshire if he’s serious about running for President. This may not fly at all in either of those states.
As far as Jesus well lets just say it would all depend on which Jesus shows up.
“Politicians do not leave their personal beliefs and religion at the door and separate all this when deciding to sign legislation put on their desk by the legislature.”
They’d better, because politicians do not get to use their public offices to impose their personal beliefs and religion on the citizenry. Unless, of course, you’re talking about Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, etc.