If Trump is impeached and Pence becomes president, we’re screwed

This story is part of Salty Queers, quick takes on the pop culture and political news that has us marinating in bitterness.

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on September 24 that the House would be initiating a formal impeachment inquiry against US President Donald Trump, queers around the world rejoiced. How great would it be to finally rid the White House of the man who wants to ban trans people from the military, has rolled back protections for trans students, allowed employers discriminate against LGBTQ workers on the grounds of “religious freedom,” and has ignorantly claimed he will cure AIDS if he’s re-elected? Since he became president in 2016, Trump attacked queer people via policy and rhetoric 126 times, according to a document tracked by American LGBTQ2 watchdog group GLAAD.

So, sure, the news of Trump’s possible impeachment sounds good. But hold on to that confetti and deflate your balloons because a Trump-free America won’t be that great, because if Trump leaves office (and that’s a long, long shot) the country would be stuck with Mike Pence as president.

And a Pence presidency is very bad news for LGBTQ2 people.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we? As an elected official, vice-president Pence has opposed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and has publicly stated he is against same-sex marriage. He disagreed with the Obama administration’s directive on transgender bathrooms, which stated that people have the right to use the bathroom that correlates with their gender identity.

Pence also voted against passing legislation that would have protected queer people in the workplace, and he’s on the record calling homosexuality “a choice” and a “learned behaviour.”

Back in 2000, Pence suggested that “resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behaviour.”

The VP did surprise the world last month when he dined with Ireland’s gay leader, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and his partner. But the meeting was of little substance, and the pair avoided any talk of LGBTQ2 issues. Meanwhile, Pence’s wife, Karen, decided to travel to the United Arab Emirates—where homosexuality is criminalized—during his American meeting with Varadkar. Someone didn’t give Karen the memo. And it’s not the only time Pence’s wife has dealt with anti-LGBTQ2 criticism. Earlier this year, the media learned that she was teaching at an anti-LGBTQ school. Good job, Karen.

So, American queer and trans people, while we are very much with you in your quest to address Trump’s corruption via impeachment, we worry that the short-term alternative might be just as bad. Maybe it’s time to move to Ireland?

This story is part of Salty Queers, quick takes on the pop culture and political news that has us marinating in bitterness.