Statement from Marc Lotter, Press Secretary to Vice President Mike Pence

— -- Statement from Marc Lotter, Press Secretary to Vice President Mike Pence:

"Any assertion that Vice President-elect Pence supported or advocated for conversion therapy is patently false and is a mischaracterization of language from a 16-year old campaign website. As a candidate for Congress in 2000, the Vice President-elect's website advocated that public funding in the Ryan White CARE Act be directed to groups that promoted safe sexual practices in the hopes of reducing the spread of HIV.

As a member of Congress, the Vice President-elect voted with a bipartisan majority of Republicans and Democrats to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act in 2006 and again in 2009. The Vice President-elect has a long record of supporting efforts to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, was also a strong supporter of AIDS Africa relief legislation (known as PEPFAR) and, as Governor of Indiana, provided strong and compassionate leadership to confront an HIV epidemic in Southern Indiana in 2015."