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<\/p>\nMike Pence Tweets Adam Rippon, Says Reports He Has Anti-Gay Record are \u2018FAKE NEWS\u2019<\/b>
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Vice President Mike Pence left for the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang last night and tweeted a defense of his record, claiming reports that he is anti-gay<\/a> are \u201cfake news.\u201d<\/p>\n Tweeted Pence: \u201cHeaded to the Olympics to cheer on Headed to the Olympics to cheer on #TeamUSA<\/a>. One reporter trying to distort 18 yr old nonstory to sow seeds of division. We won\u2019t let that happen! #FAKENEWS<\/a>. Our athletes are the best in the world and we are for ALL of them! #TEAMUSA<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 8, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n He then added a personal tweet to gay<\/a> U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon, who has been at the center of headlines for refusing a meeting with Pence over his anti-gay<\/a> record:<\/p>\n \u201c. .@Adaripp<\/a> I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don\u2019t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA<\/a> is to bring home the gold. Go get \u2018em!<\/p>\n \u2014 Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) February 8, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n News broke earlier this week that Rippon turned down a request from Mike Pence to talk after\u00a0Rippon denounced the homophobic vice president\u2019s role in leading the U.S. delegation to PyeongChang<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rippon spoke with\u00a0USA Today<\/em>\u00a0about the choice<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cYou mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay<\/a> conversion therapy? I\u2019m not buying it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rippon said he\u2019d avoid a meet-and-greet with Pence because of his views:\u00a0\u201cIf it were before my event, I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren\u2019t a friend of a gay<\/a> person but that they think that they\u2019re sick.\u201d<\/p>\n Rippon also said that Pence does not have a \u201creal concept of reality\u201d if he declares himself to be a \u201cdevout Christian\u201d and stands by Donald Trump\u2019s policies: \u201cIf he\u2019s okay with what\u2019s being said about people and Americans and foreigners and about different countries that are being called \u2018s\u2014holes,\u2019\u00a0I think he should really go to church.\u201d<\/p>\n Rippon said he might speak to Pence if he felt there was a way to have \u201can open conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n But Pence reportedly wanted to have a conversation sooner than that,\u00a0according to USA Today<\/a>:<\/p>\n Pence apparently was so concerned about Rippon\u2019s comments that he then set in motion the attempt to speak with him. Farah did not reply to an email earlier this week seeking comment on this story. Rippon\u2019s agent, David Baden, said his client would have no further comment on the issue.<\/p>\n In January, Pence\u2019s spokesman Alyssa Farah\u00a0told\u00a0USA Today<\/em>\u00a0that Rippon\u2019s claims have \u201cno basis in fact:\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe vice president is proud to lead the U.S. delegation to the Olympics and support America\u2019s incredible athletes. This accusation is totally false and has no basis in fact. Despite these misinformed claims, the vice president will be enthusiastically supporting all the U.S. athletes competing next month in Pyeongchang.\u201d<\/p>\n That, unfortunately, is not true.<\/p>\n Pence, as his record shows, is no friend to the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n In 2000\u00a0during his first successful run for Congress<\/a>, Pence\u00a0said that\u00a0he was in favor of sending\u00a0money allocated to care for people with HIV\/AIDS to organizations that provide conversion therapy.<\/p>\n From running a think-tank that published virulently anti-gay<\/a> articles, to attempting\u00a0to divert HIV\/AIDS money to fund conversion therapy, to refusing to protect LGBT Hoosiers from discrimination, to legalizing anti-LGBT discrimination in Indiana, to cozying up to\u00a0notorious homophobes, to supporting\u00a0a ban on gay<\/a> marriage, and decrying the \u2018mainstreaming of homosexuality in the military\u2019 after DADT was repealed, Pence\u2019s record\u00a0is among the worst records on LGBTQ issues of anyone who has ever occupied the office of the Vice President.<\/p>\n The post Mike Pence Tweets Adam Rippon, Says Reports He Has Anti-Gay Record are \u2018FAKE NEWS\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n#<\/s>TeamUSA<\/b><\/a>. One reporter trying to distort 18 yr old nonstory to sow seeds of division. We won\u2019t let that happen! #<\/s>FAKENEWS<\/b><\/a>. Our athletes are the best in the world and we are for ALL of them! #<\/s>TEAMUSA<\/b><\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n
@<\/s>Adaripp<\/b><\/a> I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don\u2019t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #<\/s>TeamUSA<\/b><\/a> is to bring home the gold. Go get \u2018em!\u201d<\/p>\n\n