US: Richard Grenell says he has support at home to decriminalize homosexuality abroad

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell says the Trump administration has strong backing at home from Republicans and even religious conservatives for its push to end laws that criminalize homosexuality in foreign countries, telling NBC News that he’s “wildly supported by both parties.”

In an exclusive interview in Berlin, Grenell says he has no concerns that the campaign he announced this week could trigger resistance from elements of President Donald Trump’s base, such as evangelicals who have pushed back against policies like gay marriage in the United States. He says the new global effort is focused narrowly on ending criminalization.

“This is a bipartisan push. People understand — religious people, individuals who may not always be in the LGBTI fight — they understand that criminalizing homosexuality is absolutely wrong,” Grenell said. “It is unbelievable to believe that in today’s world a 32 –year-old man in Iran can be hanged simply for being gay. That’s unacceptable.”

Grenell sat down with NBC News as three U.S. officials say he is under consideration to be Trump’s next ambassador to the United Nations, a post for which he was also considered previously. Trump’s initial pick to replace Nikki Haley, Heather Nauert, withdrew from consideration over the weekend, creating an opening for one of the most prominent roles on Trump’s foreign policy team.

The Trump administration effort, first disclosed Tuesday by NBC News, aims at pressuring the 71 countries that still penalize homosexual activity to change their laws, including those that subject gay people to the death penalty or imprisonment. U.S. embassies in Europe and the State Department’s human rights bureau are organizing the effort, which kicked off Tuesday with a strategy dinner that included a dozen LGBT activists from Europe flown in by the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. Read more via NBC