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The two will meet at the Monroeville Convention and Events Center near Pittsburgh on Saturday.
LGBTQ+ rights groups are criticizingOhio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, theRepublican vice presidential nominee, who will participate in a town hall event inPennsylvania Saturday hosted by Lance Wallnau, an evangelical pastor notorious for his extreme anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. The event, part of Vance’s Courage Tour, will take place at the Monroeville Convention and Events Center near Pittsburgh.
Wallnau is known for his long history of promoting harmful conspiracy theories and discriminatory views against the LGBTQ+ community. He has described LGBTQ+ advocates as the “Trans Taliban,”according to Rolling Stone, and accused them of targeting children through what he called “genital chop shops” — a baseless and inflammatory claim referring to gender-affirming care for minors. In one post on X (formerlyTwitter) in April, he wrote, “Children are being evangelized by teachers unions working with Democrat LGBT activists running genital chop shops targeting children.”
In addition to these outrageous claims, Wallnau has a record of opposing marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights in general. In 2018, he tweeted, “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 Progress Pride Flag during its Pride Month celebration after Fox Newspainted the annual event as controversial.
“Is the gaytrans flag the new emblem of the United States Government? Is that America’s mission in the earth?” he tweeted. “Have we made our Government the champion of trans activism for the world? Or are we on a collision course with divine discipline for our pride and perversity?”
Vance’s participation in this event has drawn intense criticism from LGBTQ+ rights groups. “Voters want public officials focused on finding solutions to real problems. But JD Vance, unsurprisingly, is doubling down on anti-LGBTQ+ lies and misinformation by appearing on the campaign trail with a noted hate peddler,” Human Rights Campaign spokesperson Delphine Luneau told The Advocate. “This is the Project 2025 playbook: never-ending division instead of building an America for all of us. Voters are tired of the Trump-Vance politics of hate — and will reject them this November.”
Democratic National Committee rapid response director Alex Floyd also condemned Vance’s attendance. “JD Vance is doubling down on his record 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 isn't trying to cover up his extreme anti-LGBTQ+ record — he's running with Donald Trump on an out-of-touch and unpopular agenda that threatens Americans' freedoms and will be rejected by voters at the ballot box this November,” Floyd told The Advocate in a statement.
Vance has consistently opposed LGBTQ+ rights throughout his political career. In 2022, he voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified marriage equality protections for interracial, same-sex, and other couples, citing concerns over religious liberty. Vance has also introduced legislation to ban gender-affirming care for minors.
