Former President Donald Trump announced Senator JD Vance, R-Ohio, as his vice-presidential running mate on Monday, inciting near-immediate backlash from some of the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy groups. These groups highlighted Vance's support for policies and rhetoric that target the LGBTQ community. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the country’s largest LGBTQ rights organization, and GLAAD, a national LGBTQ media advocacy group, were particularly vocal, releasing detailed lists of comments Vance had made and policies he had supported that are relevant to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.

The HRC and GLAAD drew attention to Vance's introduction of the Protect Children’s Innocence Act last year. This bill aimed to ban transition-related medical care for minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries. The proposed legislation, which did not progress beyond the committee stage, would have classified violations by healthcare providers as a class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Additionally, the bill sought to ban institutions of higher education and accrediting entities from offering instruction on gender-affirming care.

In October, a few months after introducing the transition-related healthcare bill, Vance proposed the Passport Sanity Act. This legislation aimed to prohibit the use of “X” gender markers on U.S. passports, an option introduced by the State Department in April 2022. The bill also did not advance in committee. Vance commented at the time, “The last thing the State Department should be doing is wasting its time and your tax dollars pushing far-left gender ideology. There are only two genders—passports issued by the United States government should recognize that simple fact. I am proud to introduce this bill to restore some sanity in our federal bureaucracy.”

During his Senate campaign in July 2022, Vance told Mission America, a right-wing Christian organization based in Ohio, that he would oppose the Respect for Marriage Act, a bill intended to ensure federal marriage protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. Congress passed this legislation in the fall of 2022, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in December, before Vance was sworn in as a senator in January 2023.

Vance has also echoed false tropes increasingly used by conservatives to describe LGBTQ individuals and their supporters as “groomers.” In April 2022, Vance stated on social media, “I’ll stop calling people ‘groomers’ when they stop freaking out about bills that prevent the sexualization of my children.” GLAAD responded in a post, “There is no evidence that discussing LGBTQ people, history, or families in schools ‘sexualizes’ anyone. Experts in child sexual abuse say false rhetoric about grooming diminishes understanding about actual abuse and endangers all children.”

In April 2022, Vance further discussed bills censoring discussions of LGBTQ issues on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” He argued that teachers were hiding their efforts to teach children about sexual orientation or gender identity from parents. “One of the things we’re learning, Tucker, is that this is being forced by some of these really radical teachers, and they’re hiding it from the parents,” Vance said. “That’s maybe the most pernicious part.”

Vance did not immediately respond to requests for comments about his stance on LGBTQ issues.

Some gay conservatives voiced support for Vance. The Log Cabin Republicans, the country’s largest organization representing LGBTQ conservatives and straight allies, praised him as an “incredible pick” on social media. Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence during the Trump administration, described Vance as “the living example of the American dream.” Grenell, referencing Vance's bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which recounts his experience growing up poor in an Ohio Rust Belt town, added, “His story gives everyone hope that this is the land of opportunity.”

Conversely, Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, described Trump and Vance as “anything but a unity ticket.” Robinson stated, “Donald Trump has been a bully for years—and his pick of MAGA clone JD Vance is a reminder that nothing has changed. We are not simply choosing between two campaigns. We are choosing between two fundamentally different visions of America. One, with Trump and MAGA ‘yes man’ JD Vance at the helm, where our rights and freedoms are under siege. And the other, with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris leading the way, where we are advancing toward freedom and equality for all. Everything is at stake and the contrast could not be clearer.”

Dara Adkison, executive director of TransOhio, a state trans rights organization, criticized Vance’s federal bill to restrict transition-related care for minors. Adkison stated that the federal bill goes further “in cruelty, scope, and enforcement” than Ohio’s similar law, which a judge blocked in April. Oral arguments in the case began this week. Adkison commented, “Vance is a hateful, cruel man who would love to hurt trans kids. He places himself as an authority between doctors, parents, and the trans youth. We need legislators with enthusiasm to help their constituents, not venom to harm children.”

The Trump administration was widely criticized by LGBTQ rights organizations as being one of the least friendly to the community. Among its policies, the administration banned transgender people from enlisting in the military, reversed Title IX protections for trans students, and moved to roll back an Obama-era policy that protected trans individuals from healthcare discrimination.

LGBTQ rights are only mentioned a few times in the GOP’s 2024 platform, which the Republican National Convention will vote on this week. The platform states that Republicans aim to “keep men out of women’s sports,” referring to bans on trans women participating in women’s sports, and “cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children,” referring to bills that would restrict the discussion or instruction of LGBTQ issues in classrooms.

The platform also states that Republicans would “promote a culture that values the sanctity of marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents,” using language that is often interpreted as promoting only heterosexual marriage.

CORRECTION (July 17, 10:40 ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the last name of TransOhio’s executive director. They are Dara Adkison, not Atkinson.