Vice President Mike Pence will speak at
this year's Values Voter Summit.
Pence is scheduled to speak at the
event on Saturday, September 22.
The annual three-day conference is
organized by the Family Research Council (FRC), which has been
labeled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
for its strong opposition to LGBT rights. FRC President Tony Perkins
has close ties with the Trump administration and the Republican
Party.
Last year, President Donald Trump
became the first sitting president to address the group.
(Related: At
Values Voter Summit, Trump praises DOJ guidance on “religious
freedom.”)
Other confirmed speakers include
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development Ben Carson, former Representative Michele Bachmann,
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
Also scheduled to appear is Jack
Phillips, the Colorado baker who refused to serve a male gay couple
and whose case reached the Supreme Court.
(Related: CO
baker who refused to serve gay couple sues state after refusing
transgender woman.)