Speaking at the 2020 Democratic
National Convention, Pete Buttigieg said that Joe Biden helped make
same-sex marriage in the United States possible.
Buttigieg was re-elected to a second
term as mayor of South Bend, Indiana after he came out as gay. He
married his husband Chasten Buttigieg in 2018.
In his speech, Buttigieg noted the
progress America has made on LGBT rights over the past ten years.
“Just over ten years ago, I joined
the military, where firing me just because of who I am wasn't just
possible, it was policy,” Buttigieg told viewers from South Bend.
“Now, in 2020, it is unlawful in America to fire someone because of
who they are or who they love.”
“The very ring on my finger; a
wedding we celebrated here where I'm standing reflects how this
country can change.”
“Love makes my marriage real. But
political courage made it possible. Including that of Joe Biden, who
stepped out ahead, even of this party, when he said that marriage
equality ought to be the law of the land,” he said, referring to
Biden's endorsement of same-sex marriage during a television
broadcast. Biden's remarks pushed President Barack Obama – and
ultimately the Democratic Party – to move from supporting civil
unions for gay and lesbian couples to marriage.
“There is a long way to go, but if
this much can change between 2010 and 2020, imagine what could change
between now and 2030. Imagine what we could achieve,” he said.
Buttigieg made history as the first
openly gay and married presidential candidate. He won the Iowa
caucuses and held the delegate lead for a short time before Biden's
come-from-behind victory in South Carolina.