During Thursday night’s Democratic debate, presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg shared his coming out story.
He admitted that he knew he had to come out as gay despite the backlash he knew he would face in his “socially conservative” community, Huffington Post reported.
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Buttigieg was asked what his biggest, professional setback has been, prompting the candidate to share his coming out story.
The 37-year-old candidate began by recalling his experience as a military officer during the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy concerning gay service members.
He would then go on to serve as an elected official in Indiana under then-Governor Mike Pence, a time during which he told viewers he wondered “whether just acknowledging who I was was going to be the biggest career-ending professional setback.”
The mayor admitted he decided to come out as gay after returning from deployment in Afghanistan.
“I came back from the deployment and realized that you only get to live one life, and I was just not interesting in not knowing what it was like to be in love any longer,” he said. “So, I just came out.”
His coming out coincided with an election year in his “socially conservative” community.
Buttigieg said he wasn’t sure how this would affect his campaign.
“When I trusted voters to judge me based on the job that I did for them, they decided to trust me and they reelected me with 80 percent of the vote.”
He went on, “And what I learned was that trust can be reciprocated and that part of how you can win and deserve to win is to know what’s worth more to you than winning. I think that’s what we need in the presidency right now.”
Buttgieg’s candid closing remarks was the first time in American history that someone from the LGBTQ community openly discussed coming out on a presidential debate stage.
The response online has been tremendous, with many supporters of the politican applauding his bravery for being so public about his experience.
“Pete Buttigieg telling his coming out story on the national stage will help other people feel comfortable to do the same,” Elex Michaelson wrote on Twitter . “It has the potential to save lives. A powerful moment.”
h/t: Huffington Post
