More than 50 graduates of Notre Dame University in Indiana participated in a walkout protest during Vice President and former Indiana Governor Mike Pence’s commencement address Sunday. The students cited his history of anti-LGBTQ actions including passage of Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) in 2015, which legalized discrimination against LGBTQ people and families.
Video of the Notre Dame students turning their backs and leaving their graduation during Pence’s commencement address is available here. Following the walkout, students tweeted photos of themselves in graduation caps and gowns outside of Notre Dame stadium using #walkoutND. GLAAD began tweeting a series of his previous anti-LGBTQ statements and actions paired with the photos: https://twitter.com/glaad/
“Graduates around the country deserve commencement speakers who inspire them to propel our diverse country forward, and these Notre Dame students bravely told the world that Vice President Pence’s anti-LGBTQ actions fly in the face of unity and inspiration,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “These Notre Dame graduates should be applauded for demonstrating true leadership and standing up for freedom and acceptance.”
Pence has a history of speaking out against LGBTQ people and passing discriminatory laws including Indiana’s RFRA in 2015, which allowed legal discrimination of LGBTQ people and families. Pence amended the law after it was met with outcry from sports leagues, local press, business leaders, and countless other fair-minded notables across the state and the country.
