So call “Christian” Franklin Graham Demeans Mayor Buttigieg’s Religious Stance

Franklin Graham tweets a shameful series of tweets while being a staunch supporter of Trump with all Trump’s sexual antics and mockery of marriage.¹

The only Democrat talking at length about his faith in the 2020 primary also happens to be the only gay candidate in the race. And he’s one of the few from a red state.

South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is an Episcopalian who can freely quote Bible verses. He’s also a presidential candidate who embraces his husband on stage at campaign rallies.
Combining homosexuality and Christianity might be the most natural thing in the world for Buttigieg and millions of gay Americans, but it is an iconoclastic development in American politics, where generalizations about religious freedom have in recent years been used specifically to fight advances in LGBTQ rights.

For some on the religious right, like Franklin Graham, Buttigieg’s identity, while it’s shared by many gay Americans of faith, does not compute.²

A recent poll states that almost 70 percent of American would rather have a gay President rather than an “evangelical”.

WASHINGTON — With Pete Buttigieg’s campaign saying he raised an impressive $7 million in the first fundraising quarter, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is looking more and more like a significant factor in the 2020 Democratic primary.

The main knock on his candidacy may be his lack of statewide or federal elected experience (South Bend’s population is only about 102,000). But it’s also worth noting that one fact about him is rarely treated as a liability: Buttigieg is openly gay and has been married to his husband, Chasten, since last June.³

1. The Washington Post, April 25, 2019 – ‘Not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized’: Franklin Graham blasts Buttigieg for being gay
2. CNN Politics, April 25, 2019, Zachary B. Wolf -Pete Buttigieg, a gay Christian, is driving the religious right nuts
3. NBC News, April 2, 2019, Carrie Dann – Almost 70 percent of Americans OK with gay presidential candidate, poll finds
   This marks a big shift since 2006, when 53 percent said they’d be “very uncomfortable” or have “reservations” about a gay or lesbian candidate.

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