Pence to be greeted by ‘Big Gay Dance Party’ in Ohio

Vice President Pence is expected to be met with LGBT activists, drag queens and a “Big Gay Dance Party” when he visits Columbus, Ohio, on Friday.

The dance party will take place outside Pence’s hotel, where he is scheduled to speak about the Republican tax law, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

{mosads}Pence, who has long been criticized for his views on the LGBT community, is scheduled to deliver a speech at the Renaissance Hotel on Friday — which also marks the first day of Columbus’s Pride weekend.

“Ohioans will protest Vice President Mike Pence … by dancing outside the hotel and performances including DJs and drag queens,” ProgressOhio, a left-leaning think tank, said in a press release obtained by the paper. The organization is co-sponsoring Friday’s dance party.

“We want to counter that anti-LGBT attitude that they have with a big, positive, loving dance party,” Jay Smith, an organizer for the event, told the Enquirer. 

In January 2017, hundreds of protesters and LGBT activists took to the streets with a similar event outside Pence’s Washington, D.C., home to protest the then-vice president-elect with a dance party.

As governor of Indiana, Pence signed the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which drew sharp criticism from members of the LGBT community and activists who said the law could encourage discrimination against the group.