JD Vance to Appear with Extremist Anti-LGBTQ+ Evangelist Lance Wallnau at a Pennsylvania Town Hall

LGBTQ+ rights organizations criticize Ohio US Senator J.D. Vance, Republican candidate for vice president, who will take part in the event at the town hall in Pennsylvania Saturday is hosted by Lance Wallnau, an evangelical pastor known for his extreme anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. The event, part of Vance’s Courage Tour, will be held at the Monroeville Convention and Events Center near Pittsburgh.

Wallnau is known for his long history of promoting harmful conspiracy theories and discriminatory views towards the LGBTQ+ community. He described LGBTQ+ supporters as “Trans Taliban.” According to Down Rolling Stoneand accused them of targeting children through what he called “genital shops” – an unfounded and inflammatory claim regarding gender-affirming care for minors. In one post on X (formerly Twitter) in April wrote: “Children are being evangelized by teachers’ unions working with LGBT activists in the Democratic Party running genital-chip shops targeting children.”

In addition to these outrageous claims, Wallnau has a history of opposing marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights in general. In 2018, he wrote on Twitter: “We always knew that same-sex marriage would be followed by anti-Christian harassment and persecution.”

In June 2023, Wallnau criticized the White House for flying the Progressive flag during his flag Pride Month celebration after Fox News found this annual event controversial.

“He’s gay transl mark the new emblem of the United States government? Is this America’s mission on earth?” – he wrote on Twitter. “Have we made our government the champion of transactivism in the world? Or are we, because of our pride and perversity, on a collision course with divine discipline?”

Vance’s participation in the event was met with heavy criticism from LGBTQ+ rights groups. “Voters want public officials to focus on finding solutions to real problems. But, unsurprisingly, JD Vance is doubling down on his anti-LGBTQ+ lies and misinformation by appearing on the campaign trail with a known hate peddler.” Human Rights Campaign said spokeswoman Delphine Luneau Advocate. “This is the Project 2025 playbook: endless division instead of building an America for all of us. “Voters are tired of Trump and Vance’s hate policies – and they will reject them in November.”

Democratic National Committee Director Alex Floyd also condemned Vance’s presence. “JD Vance is doubling down on his history of hateful extremism by campaigning with Lance Wallnau, a far-right conspiracy theorist who accuses people of “witchcraft” and has repeatedly attacked the LGBTQ+ community. Vance is not trying to hide his extreme anti-LGBTQ+ views – he is running against Donald Trump on an out-of-touch and unpopular agenda that threatens American liberties and will be rejected by voters at the ballot box in November,” Floyd said. Advocate in a statement.

Vance has consistently opposed LGBTQ+ rights throughout his political career. In 2022, he voted against the codified Respect for Marriage Act marriage equality protecting interracial, same-sex and other couples, citing religious freedom concerns. Vance also introduced legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors.