President Donald Trump will address the
Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority conference on Thursday
as D.C. prepares for LGBT Pride.
The Equality March for Unity and Pride
will take place on Sunday. Demonstrators will march from I Street to
the National Mall. More than 60 cities are planning sister marches.
The District's annual event, Capital Pride Parade, will take place on
Saturday.
The Faith & Freedom Coalition is
chaired by Ralph Reed, a vocal opponent of marriage equality.
“President Trump won an overwhelming
plurality of voters of faith last year and in the opening months of
his administration faith-based voters remain his most loyal
supporters and we are extremely excited that President Trump will
once again address thousands of conservative activists from across
the country at Road To Majority,” Reed said in announcing the
addition of Trump to his group's annual Road to Majority conference
at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in D.C.
In a 2014 interview, Reed asserted that
the social science against gay and lesbian parents was “irrefutable.”
“The social science is irrefutable.
And it is that a child who grows up in a home without the mother and
father present – and they both play a very unique procreative,
nurturing and socializing role – they're 9 times more likely to end
up dropping out of high school, they're 5 times more likely to end up
in poverty, and they're 3 times … ,” Reed said before political
commentator Cokie Roberts interrupted to refute his claims.
PunditFact
rated Reed's claims “false.”
Also scheduled to address the
conference are Vice President Mike Pence, Texas Senator Ted Cruz,
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and James Dobson, all of whom are
opposed to LGBT rights.