Mayor Pete Buttigieg during Q&A at 92nd Street Y in NYC (screen capture)
Democratic presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg was asked by the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart during a Q&A at New York City’s 92nd Street Y Wednesday evening about homophobic comments leveled at the openly gay mayor by Vice President Mike Pence and evangelist Franklin Graham.
Buttigieg has been very open about his personal faith as an Episcopalian, as well as the hypocrisy he sees in religion-based attacks on him.
Capehart asked the mayor about a tweet by Graham in April that described Buttigieg’s sexuality as “sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized.”
“I guess I would say that we all have a lot to repent for,” answered Buttigieg in a pensive tone. “I have a lot to repent for when it comes to my marriage.”
From there, the 37-year-old mayor ticked off a few personal faults of his own before landing on his answer.
“Moments when I have not been as caring as I should be; moments when I’ve been selfish; moments when I’ve said a harsh word that I wish I could take back,” listed Mayor Pete.
“But one thing that I absolutely should not be repentant for, in the context of my marriage, is the fact that I’m in love with my husband,” he added.
And the crowd goes wild!
Watch the moment below.
In April, Buttigieg addressed Pence’s ‘moral’ issues with homosexuality head-on while speaking at the LGBTQ Victory Fund brunch.
Sharing the ways that being married to his husband, Chasten, has made him a better man, the mayor added, “And yes, Mr. Vice President, it has moved me closer to God.”
“That’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand: That if you have a problem with who I am, your quarrel is not with me,” Buttigieg said. “Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”
And during an appearance with Ellen DeGeneres, Buttigieg said of the Vice President, “I’m not critical of his faith, I’m critical of bad policies.”
“I don’t have a problem with religion, I’m religious, too,” he added. “I have a problem with religion being used as a justification to harm people and especially in the LGBTQ community.”
