It was great to hear that Rick Grenell, a friend and fellow Harvard Kennedy School grad (we’re rare conservatives from a progressive school), is taking the lead to protect the human rights of LGBTI people around the world. Grenell, who is openly gay, is part of the Trump administration, and while there are certainly domestic disagreements, it’s heartening to hear that these basic human rights are something that both Left and Right are coming together to champion. I wrote about this development in a recent oped for CNN: On Wednesday, Ambassador Richard Grenell, America’s envoy to Germany, hosted 11 activists from countries across Europe at the US Embassy in Berlin to strategize about how to combat the criminalization of LGBTI status or conduct around the globe. Grenell, the driving force behind the decriminalization effort, acknowledged that achieving this goal will not be easy but emphasized the US ability to be a leader in the mission. The coalition seeks to involve the EU, NATO, the Vatican and other organizations to approach this problem in a systematic way. This renewed leadership on human rights by the Trump administration, which was publicly endorsed by Vice President Pence, will better help correctly frame the war on terror as a…
See original post: OP-ED: America is Leading the Way (Including Mike Pence) on LGBTI Decriminalization