The Trump White House will not pressure African countries to repeal anti-LGBTQ laws, according to Mick Mulvaney.
Mulvaney, a former Republican congressman and current Director of the Office of Management and Budget as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, made the statement while speaking at the State Department’s Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, DC.
Mulvaney said that the Obama administration had gone too far in trying to promote equal rights, such as President Barack Obama saying he would put an emphasis on the importance of LGBTQ rights in a visit to Kenya in 2015. Kenya currently punishes homosexuality with up to 14 years in prison.
“Our US taxpayer dollars [were] used to discourage Christian values in other democratic countries, he said. “It was stunning to me that my government under the previous administration would go to folks in sub-Saharan Africa and say, ‘We know that you have a law against abortion, but if you enforce that law, you’re not going to get any of our money. We know you have a law against gay marriage, but if you enforce that law, we’re not going to give you any money.’
He added: “That’s a different type of religious persecution. (…) That is a different type of religious persecution that I never expected to see. I never expected to see that as an American Christian, that we would be doing that to other folks. I am here to let you know there are many people in our government who care about [these issues.] There are a lot of people in this government who want to see things done differently. They want to do something.”
Mirroring many members of the Trump Administration, Mulvaney has opposed LGBTQ rights multiple times, scoring him zero on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard.
The Florida Legislature recently passed a bill stripping away Walt Disney World Resort's self-governance powers as retribution for Disney's actions taken in response to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law.
The legislature approved the bill, which puts the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special tax district covering 25,000 acres of Disney properties in Orange and Osceola counties, under the thumb of a special board whose members will be appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, reports The Associated Press.
DeSantis, a backer of the "Don't Say Gay" law, also known as the "Parental Rights in Education" bill has claimed that the move is to end decades of Disney being given special perks that aren't granted to other corporations, such as the ability to govern itself, including providing public safety services and approving major infrastructure or development plans without having to seek the approval of local regulators.
Donald Trump Jr. went on a homophobic rant questioning Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's qualifications and mocking the openly gay cabinet member for taking paternity leave.
The eldest son of former president Donald Trump appeared on Newsmax's Prime News on Wednesday, Feb. 22, where he was asked to comment on the Biden administration's handling of a train carrying hazardous materials that derailed in eastern Ohio earlier this month.
The junior Trump said that "Joe doesn't give a crap" about the environmental turmoil and potential dangers facing the residents of East Palestine, Ohio -- who were temporarily forced to evacuate the area after the derailment -- and "couldn't care less" about the situation on the ground.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed a law into effect protecting LGBTQ people from being discriminated against in housing, employment, education, and public accommodations.
On Thursday, Whitmer signed Senate Bill 4, introduced by State Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), which expands the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ individuals, prohibiting instances of discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
"Michigan is a state where we stand up for people's fundamental freedoms," Whitmer said during a bill-signing ceremony in which she hailed the measure as a symbol of "a new day" for the state's LGBTQ residents, reports the Detroit Free Press.
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