SUMMARY
1992: Pence Called The 1992 Civil Rights Act “Objectionable.” In a The Daily Journal op-ed Mike Pence wrote, “Whether it was Bush’s cynical reversal of the ‘no new taxes’ pledge or his vacillation on the 1992 Civil Rights (quota) Act, he has managed to alienate a sizable portion of the Reagan Republican coalition. Somehow, miraculously, Dan Quayle has managed to keep his distance from these objectionable acts and has, more than any other politician in America, engendered real credibility as a spokesman for the strong-defense, free-market and tradition-drive platform of that coalition.” [Daily Journal, 8/13/92]
Pence Said Civil Rights Act Would Have Created “Reverse Discrimination.” According to The Root, “Although the Civil Rights Act was supported by an overwhelming majority of Congress on both sides of the aisle (only 33 Republicans voted against the bill), Pence joined a chorus of neoconservatives who argued that such a bill would create ‘reverse discrimination.’” [Root, 07/16/16]
1990: Pence Said He Would Vote To Sustain A Veto Of Legislation Designed To Reinstate Civil Rights Protections Overturned By The Supreme Court; Said “It Is Not Because I Am A Racist. I Am Sensitive To Small Business America, And I Don’t Believe That Businesses Should Be Forced To Proceed On The Racist Tendencies That (Hiring) Quotas Are Comprised Of.” According to the Daily Journal, “Civil rights was the issue that sparked the most heated exchanged of the debate. A congressional bill designed to reinstate civil rights protections overturned by the United States Supreme Court has been threatened with a veto by President George Bush. Pence was asked if he would vote to sustain or override such a veto. Pence said that adequate civil rights protections are already in place and that the new legislation would require racial hiring quotas.‘I would sustain the veto,’ he said. ‘It is not because I am a racist. I am sensitive to small business America, and I don’t believe that businesses should be forced to proceed on the racist tendencies that (hiring) quotas are comprised.” [Daily Journal 9/29/90]
2010 And 2011: Pence Voted To Prohibit The Agriculture Department From Making Payments For The Pigford II Discrimination Against African-American Farmers Settlement. In June 2011, Pence voted for an amendment that, according to Congressional Quarterly, would have “bar[red] the use of funds in the bill to make payments or pay the salaries and expenses of Agriculture Department personnel for the purpose of making payments relating to the final settlement of claims in the case of Pigford II, concerning alleged discrimination by Agriculture Department officials against African-American farmers.” The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 155 to 262. [House Vote 444, 6/16/11; Congressional Quarterly, 6/16/11; Congressional Actions, HR 2112] [House Vote 584, 11/30/10; Congressional Quarterly, 11/30/10]
June 19, 2020: In Response To Being Asked If He Would Say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ Pence Declined And Said That ‘All Lives Matter.’ According to 6 ABC, “Ever since the death of George Floyd, and the nationwide protests that caught-on-camera moment spurred, America has once again been grappling with the words 'Black lives matter’ […] On a historic Juneteenth, as protests continue to rage across America, Vice President Mike Pence was asked if he would say those words, 'Black lives matter,' and three times declined - instead saying ‘all lives matter in a very real sense.’ The Vice President, when pressed as to why he would not say the phrase, said, ‘Well, I don't accept the fact, Brian, that there's a segment of American society that disagrees in the preciousness and importance of every human life.’” [6 ABC, 6/20/20]
June 28, 2020: During A Sunday Interview With CBS News, Pence Again Refused To Say That ‘Black Lives Matter,’ An Instead Insisted That ‘All Life Matters, Born And Unborn.’ According to Business Insider, “Vice President Mike Pence has once again refused to say ‘Black lives matter,’ instead insisting during an interview Sunday that ‘all life matters, born and unborn.’ ‘I cherish the progress that we have made toward a more perfect union for African Americans throughout our history. And I've aspired throughout my career to be a part of that ongoing work,’ Pence said during a Sunday interview with CBS News' ‘Face the Nation.’ ‘And as a pro-life American, I also believe that all life matters, born and unborn,’ he added.” [Business Insider, 6/29/20]
Pence: I Really Believe All Lives Matter. According to Business Insider, “Dickerson pressed Pence to answer, ‘So you won't say Black lives matter?’ ‘John, I really believe that all lives matter,’ the vice president responded.” [Business Insider, 6/29/20]
Pence Said That He Did Not Support The BLM Movement And Falsely Claimed That Its Leaders ‘Support[ed] Calls’ For Violence. According to Business Insider, “The vice president said he didn't support the Black Lives Matter movement because its leaders were calling to defund police departments and reallocate taxpayer money to social services, and he falsely claimed the leaders ‘support calls’ for violence. ‘What I see in the leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement is a political agenda of the radical left that would defund the police, that would tear down monuments, that would press a radical-left agenda, and support calls for the kind of violence that has beset the very communities that they say they're advocating for,’ he said.” [Business Insider, 6/29/20]