HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hours after Michigan state legislators advanced a historic bill that would bar discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, former Vice President Mike Pence called on religious conservatives to stand up for causes like “the sanctity of marriage” during an event at Hillsdale College.
“At a time when our most cherished values and traditions seem maligned by popular culture on a daily basis, I say speak without apology about the institution of traditional marriage and above all else never give up the right to life,” Pence told the audience gathered inside the Christ Church Chapel on the school’s campus.
The former vice president spoke in general terms and never directly referred to the Michigan legislation.
In 2016, as Indiana governor, Pence signed signed an amended version of the state's religious freedom law after the original legislation he signed was criticized for allowing some merchants to deny service to the gay community. The updated version said the state law could not be used to discriminate against anyone, including gay and lesbian customers.
Pence, who moved back to Indiana after he and former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, spoke at the private college on Wednesday afternoon, delivering a lecture on the role of faith in public life, marking the politician’s first visit to the conservative college since leaving office.
Speaking directly to the Hillsdale students in attendance, Pence urged those interested in public service to “step forward” and “speak about the values with which you were raised.” Their generation might be “the last line of defense for the Constitution of the United States," he said.
The lecture was hosted by the college as part of this year’s Drummond Lecture Series inside the campus chapel, which is reportedly the largest college chapel built in America in nearly 100 years.
Hillsdale College President Larry Arn opened the event with a brief address. As he introduced Pence, Arn outlined their friendship, which he said began more than a decade ago when Pence was a member of Congress and spanned through his tenure as vice president.
The college president talked about the current era in the U.S., labeling it “the most turbulent time in American history since the 1850s (just before the civil war)." Arn noted that Pence, as vice president, was forced to navigate a number of difficult situations.
“He was called upon because of his office to do very controversial things. The pandemic and Jan. 6th chief among them,” Arn said, referring to when Pence oversaw the congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory despite Trump's pressuring him to overturn the Electoral College results.
“Those are hard things to do. He did not think it right to delay things on Jan. 6th and I agreed with him about that and still do. But of course, that's a hard call.”
Pence oversaw the certification after Trump supporters rioted, overran security and temporarily took control of the U.S. Capitol before order was restored. More than 948 people nationwide have been charged with Jan. 6 crimes by federal authorities.
This was not the former vice president’s first visit to Hillsdale. He said he first spoke at the college in 2010. Most recently, Pence spoke at the school’s commencement ceremony In 2018.
Pence began his speech with a few jokes about adjusting to civilian life in Indiana after spending four years as the second in command, but did not touch on any future ambitions for office. Pence has been speculated as a possible Republican presidential nominee in 2024 but has not announced his candidacy. Trump has announced his candidacy and begun campaigning.
Pence did not mention Trump by name, but he did reflect on their work during their four years, calling it an “honor” to serve in the Trump administration.
“In 2016, it was my great honor to run and to serve as vice president of the United States in one of the most consequential Republican administrations in American history,” Pence said.
According to the former vice president, the confirmation of 300 judges, including three Supreme Court justices, may be the most consequential part of the administration’s legacy.
“During those four years … we put conservative principles into practice and the results speak for themselves,” he said, touting the administration’s effort to “secure” the country’s borders, passing tax cuts and rolling back regulations. “... We appointed 300 judges to our federal courts, including three of the Supreme Court justices that just this last year gave the American people a new beginning on the sanctity of human life.”
Two years since leaving office, however, Pence said times have changed.
“Through it all I came here today, to gather for this lecture to speak on the role of faith in public life, to simply to say at the bottom of my heart …: There are better days ahead,” he said. “Have faith because faith remains the antidote to American decline.”
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