Vice President Mike Pence will speak at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs later this month as part of the organization’s 40th anniversary celebrations, continuing his ongoing support of the group’s fierce pro-life stance and work against policies supporting the LGBTQ community.
“He plans to speak about a range of issues that affect families in the United States,” Allison Meggers, a Focus on the Family spokeswoman, said of Pence’s June 23 visit.
Meggers said the event will be closed to the public due to limited seating, though members of the media will be allowed to attend. The Gazette was first to report the speech.
The views of Pence and Focus on the Family have long been aligned, with the organization backing him on various contentious social issues.
Recently, Focus on the Family came to Pence’s defense in March after a Washington Post profile of the vice president’s wife, Karen, noted how he refrains — when his spouse is not there — from eating dinner alone with another woman or attending an event with alcohol. The revelation drew outrage from women’s groups.
A post on the Focus on the Family website supporting Pence was titled, “Mike Pence Is Right to Keep Boundaries around His Marriage.”
Focus on the Family also supported Pence in 2015 when the then-Indiana governor was taking fire for signing into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which gave business owners the ability to cite their religious views as a reason to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers.
“Vice President Mike Pence has been a tireless advocate for families throughout his service in government,” Focus on the Family President Jim Daly said in a written statement. “We’re honored to have him join us in marking 40 years of saving marriages in crisis, equipping moms and dads to thrive as parents, speaking to crucial policy issues and creating a culture of life in our nation.”
Focus on the Family began in 1977 and has spread its message through its radio program. It has a sprawling campus in north Colorado Springs, where it is headquartered.
