The rise and fall of Pete Buttigieg

Progress is rarely without setbacks, and almost never linear. That’s been the main takeaway on the evolution of LGBTQ rights in the United States, as detailed in the recently released report by the Movement Advancement Project. Entitled Mapping LGBTQ Equality: 2010 to 2020, the report provides a comprehensive view of both the advancements, as well as the lingering challenges and setbacks, which continue to affect members of the LGBTQ community. For instance, the report makes note that in 2010, there were no states that banned conversion therapy for minors, outlawed health insurers from excluding transgender-related coverage, or offered gender neutral options on official documents. However, in the past 10 years, approximately 20 states now have these protections in place. It’s been much the same across several other policy benchmarks. Over the past decade, the number of states that explicitly prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people in housing and employment has increased from 12 to 21, while the number of states that ban health-care discrimination against LGBTQ people has risen from five to 13. All needed developments, that much is sure. Unfortunately, that progress has also coincided with a whole slew of regressive barriers to full equality, manifesting itself in the form of religious exemption laws. These discriminatory laws have stymied progress by preventing LGBTQ parents from fostering kids, even at some state-funded agencies, and by obstructing the marriage of same-sex couples. They have now popped up in a dozen different states over the past decade. The conflicted state of LGBTQ progress is evident in even more aspects of American society. According to the Pew Research Center, a mere 31 per cent of American adults approved of same-sex marriage back in 2004. Now, however, that number has doubled to almost 61 per cent. At the same time, however, hate crimes against the LGBTQ community, in particular, transgender women of color, are still disproportionately high. A most recent and telling example of the “jagged” line of LGBTQ progress was witnessable in the rise and fall of former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential aspirations. Once the dust had settled in the aftermath of the Iowa caucuses, the Democratic Party’s first primary, Buttigieg officially became the first member of the LGBTQ community to win delegates in a presidential nomination race. At one point, he even led all other Democratic candidates in the delegate count, at least before his recent resignation from the race. Without a doubt, Buttigieg’s success is a landmark achievement for the LGBTQ community. Unfortunately, enthusiasm for Buttigieg’s unparalleled feat in LGBTQ history must also be tempered with the knowledge that prejudice against the community is still very much present within American society. Just last month, controversial far-right radio host Rush Limbaugh, who ironically just was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, made some denigrating remarks about Buttigieg’s sexuality. Not only this, but in the aftermath of the Iowa kerfuffle, a video went viral, displaying an unidentified woman at one of the caucus precincts, spouting her dismay upon learning that the 38-year-old former mayor, Harvard scholar and military veteran was also an openly gay man. “I don’t want anybody like that in the White House,” she complained, later adding “he better read the Bible.” As despicable as these acts of bigotry are, they are at least somewhat predictable. Less predictable, however, has been the attacks against Buttigieg from what one might have assumed to have been his traditional allies. It has been particularly disheartening to observe LGBTQ members raise their voices against Buttigieg, attacking him not just for his policies, but for his lack of queerness. Just last week in The Globe and Mail, RM Vaughan, a writer in residence at the University of New Brunswick, joined this chorus of queer opposition, referring to Buttigieg disparagingly as a “good gay” whom he simply couldn’t “trust.” If Vaughan had stuck to criticizing Buttigieg for his “closer to progressive-ish Republican” policy views, I wouldn’t find much to quibble with. But sadly, Vaughan, and countless other LGBTQ members, have targeted Buttigieg for what they perceive to be his lack of queer expression. It’s a shame, for I’ve always wanted to believe that after facing continuous discrimination for being different from the norm, the LGBTQ community would be the first to embrace diversity amongst its members, regardless of how one expresses their sexuality. Americans have made some important advancements over the previous decade in tackling LGBTQ discrimination. Yet evidently, there is still much advocacy left to do in the coming decade. Wyatt James Schierman is a freelance writer and regular columnist with Loonie Politics. The Hill Times