VP candidate Pence speaks to home-schoolers near Asheville
BLACK MOUNTAIN - In a speech that addressed violence in Charlotte, vice presidential candidate Mike Pence outlined a faith-based platform he said the Trump administration would enact.
Speaking to a Christian coalition of about 200 home-school parents and families, members of the Home School Legal Defense Association, Pence portrayed Donald Trump as a praying man who once initiated a prayer circle in the back of an airplane in the midst of campaign travels.
But before he launched into the faith-based initiatives, he took a moment to address the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte on Tuesday and the chaotic protests and violence that have followed.
He said the American people deserve a full investigation of the shooting, and he encouraged attendees to pray for Charlotte, the victim’s family and law enforcement officers.
“I’m someone who believes in the sanctity of human life, so we mourn the loss of life,” he said. “(But) no one has the right to engage in acts of violence against property or persons anywhere in the United States.”
He also mentioned the five people who died Friday in Washington state after a gunman opened fire in a shopping mall, using this shooting as an example of chaos in America.
“In a very real sense, we’ve never needed the voices of faith in America more than we need them today,” he said.
In extended remarks, he said a Trump administration would repeal the 1954 Johnson Amendment, a tax law which prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches, from endorsing or opposing political candidates.
“It’s been voices of faith that have driven our American experiment since its very inception,” he said. “We will free up the voices of faith in America once again”
Continuing to connect policy to religion, he said a Trump administration would defund Planned Parenthood and prohibit tax dollars from funding abortion.
“Pro-life Americans should not be required to see their tax dollars used to fund that which they see as morally objectionable,” he said. “We will work to defund Planned Parenthood in a Trump Pence administration and redirect those dollars to fund women’s health services that do not provide abortion.”
Pence acknowledged his audience’s varied origins, saying he knows the home-school families come from across the nation. He encouraged them to spread Trump’s faith-based message where they live.
“(Trump) is a man with faith in God and faith in the American people, and I truly do believe this good man will be a great president of the United States of America,” he said. “Go back to your home state and get involved and engage the home school movement in your state behind our cause.”
Throughout the speech, he criticized Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, discussing her “failures” of foreign policy and calling her the “most dishonest candidate ever.” He pointed out their differing views on the Hyde Amendment and mandatory contraception coverage.
Pence arrived about 45 minutes late to the speech and spoke for about 45 minutes. He will leave the Asheville area — which he did not mention in any way — and travel to New Hampshire on Monday.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory briefly introduced Pence, joking that he hitchhiked here with a “nice Indiana couple.”
“I want to let you know (Pence) understands education and he understands home schools, also as I do,” he said. “The more choice we give parents and their children, the better education will be for everyone.”
McCrory briefly referenced the Charlotte protests, saying he had been dealing with the “issues of Charlotte,” as well as flooding in the eastern part of the state and fuel shortages in the western part of the state.
More about the host organization
Pence delivered his remarks at an annual gathering of home school parents and their children. The HSLDA was hosting a pre-scheduled, annual invitation-only leadership conference at Ridgecrest when Pence volunteered to speak.
He said he has a friendship with HSLDA co-founder Mike Farris, whom he called “one of the most impactful Christian conservatives in the United States of America.”
The HSLDA is a nonpartisan, Christian group open to all religious and political affiliations, said Scott Woodruff, senior counsel.
“As far as I’m concerned, home-school freedom is a bipartisan issue,” Woodruff said. “I expect there are a lot of people here who are undecided.”
However, as Farris took the stage before Pence’s speech, he made a joke about squashing a spider that represented the Democratic National Committee.
Farris said there is something of a “partisan divide” surrounding home-schooling, and they tend to get more support from Republican legislators.
“(Democrats) get a lot of support from the teacher’s union, and the teacher’s union doesn’t like us,” he said.
William A. Estrada, director of federal relations, said the group has worked with Pence in the past, and the Indiana governor supports home schooling. The HSLDA lobbies state and federal governments.
“We’re kind of an interesting constituency because we don’t really want anything from the government. We want to be left alone,” he said.
Kathy Fedele of Syracuse, New York, said she was interested in the ways legislators could help home school parents untangle the bureaucratic complexities they encounter in the education system.
She home schooled her three daughters, who are now in their 20s, and said processes like submitting her test scores and diplomas for validation were needlessly difficult.
She said she is undecided about how to vote for president, but she said the speech could help her decide.
“It’s a tough year,” she said before the speech. “I don’t think either of them meet my values. I really have to sincerely pray before I go into the poll and vote.”
Pence’s visit follows a Sept. 12 campaign rally with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in downtown Asheville.