Pete Buttigieg has been a frequent critic of those who take umbrage with the LGBTQ lifestyle, often directing his ire at Vice President Mike Pence, who has not once taken a shot at the Democratic presidential candidate’s sexual orientation.
However, during a recently published interview with The Washington Post, Buttigieg’s husband Chasten opened up about his own sexual identity and his family’s struggle — partially for religious reasons — to accept his orientation.
One of Chasten’s brothers, Rhyan Glezman, who is a pastor at a church in Clio, Michigan, told the Post he was not surprised by his youngest brother’s homosexuality.
“I want the best for him,” he told the newspaper, noting it was very difficult for the family to make amends with Chasten’s sexuality. “I just don’t support the gay lifestyle.”
Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, identifies as an Episcopalian. He has, perhaps as a result of the media’s prompting, made his sexual orientation a cornerstone of his campaign.
Taking one of his myriad swipes at Pence, in early April, Buttigieg said his homosexuality has “moved me closer to God.” He went on to say, “If me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade.”
“That’s the thing that I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand,” the mayor explained. “That if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”
One of the most outspoken critics of Buttigieg’s sexual orientation has been evangelist Franklin Graham, a stalwart supporter of President Donald Trump.
Though he hasn’t often addressed Trump’s moral failings, even suggesting last year the Republican president’s personal life is “nobody’s business” after stating the exact opposite about then-President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, Graham has called out Buttigieg for violating biblical teaching on sexuality.
For his part, Buttigieg responded to Graham’s comments earlier this week during a luncheon with progressive activist Al Sharpton.
He called Graham’s remarks “ridiculous,” adding, “I think he’ll isolate himself over time with that kind of language. At least, I’d like to think that.”