Pete Buttigieg faces anti-gay chants in Iowa

Gay presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was met by anti-gay protesters yesterday in Iowa who chanted homophobic messages at him.

The incidents occurred during two of Buttigieg’s appearances in Iowa yesterday, according to CNN.

At one event, two protesters shouted “Remember Sodom and Gomorrah” at Buttigieg. The quote references the biblical cities where residents engaged in “sexual immorality” and were punished with “eternal fire.”

One protester said Pete Buttigieg ‘stands for the murder of unborn babies’

In another incident, a protester stood up and said: “Grandparents, do you want your grandchildren following his example? God loves us… but he stands for the murder of unborn babies.”

After the man was removed by security, Buttigieg—who is mayor of South Bend, Indiana—defused the tension with a joke.

“That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator,” Buttigieg said afterwards. “I view it differently. We ought to be able to view it differently and never question one another’s choices.”

“The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you.”

– Pete Buttigieg

At one point, Buttigieg said: “The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you.”

Speaking to CNN after his two Iowa events, Buttigieg said he would “prefer to have those kinds of debates in a respectful format, versus through interruption, but a president is going to have to deal with tougher things than being interrupted in a speech.”

Meanwhile, a voter also asked Buttigieg’s husband Chasten what he thought of the hecklers. He replied: “We are beyond divisiveness. That is what we are out here to talk about.”

Pete Buttigieg (Scott Olson/Getty)

• Dec 01

16 TV stars you grew up watching who later came out as LGBTQ+