Gay voters take pride in Pete Buttigieg's candidacy, but many question whether he can win
When same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2004, Mark LeMiere came to Provincetown, a storied gay mecca at the tip of Cape Cod, to tie the knot with his partner of 20 years.
The pair were there again Friday, amazed to be attending a rally for the first serious gay presidential candidate.
“I never in a million years thought we’d be allowed to be married, let alone see an openly gay man run for president,” said LeMiere, 56, who splits his time between Provincetown and Boston.
Win or lose in the 2020 presidential race, Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., is energizing LGBTQ Americans. With his surprisingly strong run for the Democratic presidential nomination, he is helping a long-marginalized community advance in political stature and pride in a way some compare to the effect Barack Obama’s presidency had on African Americans.
“Mayor Pete Buttigieg is transforming America’s perception of LGBTQ people,” said Annise Parker, president of the Victory Fund, an LGBTQ political group that endorsed Buttigieg in June, the first time it had endorsed a presidential candidate.
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He also reminds us how much homophobia and heterosexism is still out there and how many, who claim to be our allies, are anything BUT!
