Representative Greg Pence of Indiana was reluctant to pass judgment on his sister-in-law’s teaching job at a school which does not allow LGBT teachers or students in Virginia, but he did say that neither Vice President Mike Pence nor his wife are anti-gay.
TMZ caught up with freshman Congressman Greg Pence to pepper him with questions about Karen Pence teaching art at a school in Virginia, Immanuel Christian School, which excludes gay teachers and students. The reporter called out to Rep. Pence to ask point blank if his brother and sister-in-law were anti-LGBT.
“No, they are not.”
The Indiana representative added that Karen Pence is an “excellent teacher and artist.”
But not everyone believes this, as Mike Pence has a 20-year history of opposing equality for the LGBT community, and even seeming to support conversion therapy for gays.
And it would be difficult for Karen Pence to say that she wasn’t aware that Immanuel Christian School had a strict anti-tolerance policy as there is a pledge involved in attending and teaching at the K-8 academy, says the Washington Post .
Potential employees and students of Virginia’s Immanuel Christian School must “affirm certain religious beliefs that seek to exclude homosexual and transgender applicants, including that marriage, can only be between a man and a woman.”
https://twitter.com/lpolgreen/status/1085610175069908993
The pledge goes on to include a list of vows, including one that says they pledge to “live a personal life of moral purity,” and to promise that you are a born-again Christian.
Robert W. Tuttle, a professor of law and religion at George Washington Law School, says that he’s not surprised at Karen Pence’s choice of a school in which to teach as it shores up her husband’s following by conservative Christians, and adds that Mrs. Pence is within her rights to teach at a school which excludes a significant portion of the population.
Professor Tuttle says that it’s by design that the Trump administration and its members make certain choices.
“They have staked out a certain set of positions on issues that are confrontational. The administration seems to live on wedges, so paying attention to this just feeds their interest in driving one more wedge. And this confirms their bona fides with religious conservatives.”
Kara Brooks, a spokesperson for Karen Pence, thinks it’s ridiculous that anyone would question where the second lady would choose to teach art.
“It’s absurd that her decision to teach art to children at a Christian school, and the school’s religious beliefs, are under attack.”
