JD Vance chose a homophobic, misogynist pastor’s church for Arizona visit

The Trump campaign traded its usual anti-LGBTQ church venue for another this week, when JD Vance, candidate for vice president, held a student event in Mesa, Arizona.

Vance spoke before supporters at Generation Church as part of far-right voter outreach group Turning Point Action’s “Chase the Vote” campaign. He was welcomed to the chapel by pastor Ryan Visconti, a US Army veteran with a history of homophobic and misogynistic beliefs that mirror Vance’s.

Violence in marriage

Both Vance and Visconti’s record on domestic violence is that of detrimental advice for victims. The pair believe physical abuse is not a good reason to end a marriage, and that it’s better for children to live together with married, abusive parents rather than go through a divorce.

“Although it is heartbreaking, ‘abuse’ is not a biblical justification for divorce,” Visconti posted on Instagram. “This is the most used and abused (pun intended) argument. It is grounds for separation, but not divorce.”

Vance echoed a similar sentiment during a 2022 discussion at Pacifica Christian High School in Orange County.

“These marriages were fundamentally—you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy,” Vance said. “And so getting rid of [the marriage] and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear.”

Disdain for abortion care

Unsurprisingly, the duo who encouraged the women abused by their husbands to remain married also share a staunch opposition to abortions.

“Abortion is the murder of children,” Visconti falsely claimed in an Instagram post. “Everyone who votes for abortion will have blood on their hands.”

Visconti celebrated the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that reinstated an 1864 law that banned abortions completely, with no exceptions for victims of sexual assault. He has called the procedure an “abomination,” and believes that anyone who considers themselves a Christian is duty-bound to oppose abortion care in any form.

While Vance has recently attempted to water down his stance on abortion to something voters could stomach, his record is riddled with support for unpopular policies that would restrict abortion access. Vance opposed an amendment approved by Ohio voters to make abortion access a constitutionally protected right, considers abortion a form of murder, and supported a proposal by US Sen. Lindsay Graham to establish a 15-week abortion ban nationwide.

Prior to the US Supreme Court decision in 2022 to remove nationwide protections for abortion access, Vance said a federal ban was necessary, and created a vaguely racist hypothetical scenario to explain why abortion laws should not be left to the states.

“I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally. Let’s say Roe v. Wade is overruled, Ohio bans abortion,” Vance said in 2022. “And then, every day, George Soros sends a 747 to Columbus to load up disproportionately Black women to get them to go have abortions in California. And, of course, the left will celebrate this as a victory for diversity.”

Erasing the LGBTQ community

Visconti has a vitriolic attitude towards the LGBTQ community, and has built that into his church teachings. Generation Church denies the existence of transgender people, and only recognizes marriages between men and women. Visconti has openly stated that same-sex couples should not exist, and discourages people from associating in any way with members of the LGBTQ community.

“There’s absolutely no way a Christian can attend a ‘gay wedding’ without signaling shared celebration, approval, or affirmation to at least some extent,” Visconti posted on Twitter. “Should God’s people participate in a celebration of detestable sin? No!”

On another occasion, Visconti posted that, “if you think Jesus would have winked at gay people getting married and serving in church unrepentant, then you’ve got another Jesus than I do.”

Unlike Visconti, Vance has had the opportunity to codify his anti-LGBTQ views into law. In the US Senate, Vance sponsored legislation that would prohibit gender-affirming medical care for minors, and said he would vote against any bill that would offer nationwide protections for same-sex marriage. He has also falsely accused members and allies of the LGBTQ community as a whole of being sexual abusers.

“I’ll stop calling people ‘groomers’ when they stop freaking out about bills that prevent the sexualization of my children,” Vance posted on Twitter.