Eight is Mike Pence's unlucky homophobic number

In anticipation for the upcoming vice presidential debate, the following bears repeating.

I think it's safe to say that no one is fooled about Trump's false gestures to the lgbt community. He claims that he will protect us from foreign countries who would harm us in accordance to their beliefs. Conveniently he doesn't say a word about the American groups who would deny us our rights. In fact, he has aligned himself with them.

But to put it another way, if one wants to garner the truth about how Trump as president would treat the lgbt community, one word says it all - eight.

That's how many times last year his VP pick, Mike Pence, refused to say he is opposed to anti-lgbt discrimination during an interview with George Stephanopoulos. I wonder will the moderator at the upcoming debate between him and Democrat VP pick Tim Kaine ask him about it

'Mike Pence should be asked about extensive history of homophobia during VP debate' & other Mon. midday news briefs

At The VP Debate, Mike Pence Should Be Asked About Anti-LGBT "Religious Freedom" Laws - Let's not feast on Donald Trump's errors that we forget about those of his VP pick. In the upcoming vice presidential debate, Pence has a LOT to answer for with regards to his long history of homophobia, particularly the mess he created in Indiana with his "religious freedom" law. Remember his claim that the law had nothing to do with anti-lgbt discrimination in spite of the fact that he was surrounded by statewide anti-lgbt activists when he signed the bill?:

College Football Championship Will Now Be Held In A City With LGBT Protections - Just in case you didn't hear, North Carolina continues to suffer for its transphobia.  

Lyft driver kicks out rider after homophobic, anti-Semitic rant - A reminder about the work which must be continued.

 Inside Mexico’s Surprise Backlash To Marriage Equality - One guess who was behind it and what lies they used to rally folks. The beast never changes course of attack because no one confronts the beast head on.

Equality Forum, I love your list but I have a problem with two of your lgbt 'icons'

It's that time of the year again when the Equality Forum selects its 31 iconic figures for LGBT History Month:



I've always supported this endeavor and will continue to do so and I have a dream that one day I will included in a future list.

However, there are two choices this year which I must cry foul over.

 Granted, Equality Forum's list is always controversial and this year is no different. Malcolm Forbes was a multi-millionaire and owner of several successful ventures, including Forbes magazine. But he was not an out gay man. Instead, his outing as an alleged gay man generated a lot of controversy.

James Buchanan, the 14th president of the United States, was the subject of many rumors about his sexual orientation. His status as possibly the first and only gay president is can be considered the only reason why he is included in this list.

But honestly speaking, a lot of historians think of him as one of the worst presidents we ever had.

According to U.S. News and World Reports:

 Even before he became president, he supported the various compromises that made it possible for slavery to spread into the western territories acquired by the Lousiana Purchase and the Mexican War. (Particularly hurtful to the cause of restraining slavery's spread was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, for example, allowed settlers to determine the status of slavery in their proposed state constitutions.) In his inaugural address, the 15th president tacitly encouraged the Supreme Court's forthcoming Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress had no power to keep slavery out of the territories. More damaging to his name, though, was his weak acquiescence before the secessionist tide—an unwillingness to challenge those states that declared their intention to withdraw from the Union after Lincoln's election. Sitting on his hands as the situation spiraled out of control, Buchanan believed that the Constitution gave him no power to act against would-be seceders.

My point is  if one is to be considered an official "lgbt icon," one should have more on his or her resume than being an lgbt or an alleged lgbt. An icon is one who is idolized because he or she creates a standard to emulate. Being considered one of the worst presidents of the United States or being a deep-in-the-closet millionaire who gets yanked out at the time of his death shouldn't be a standard anyone should want to emulate.