Indiana: South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg Comes Out

(photo via South Bend Tribune)

In advance of the impending ruling from SCOTUS on marriage equality and the aftermath of Indiana's disastrous "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" debacle, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg pens an essay for the South Bend Tribune in which he makes the decision to come out.

"I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay. It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it’s just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am.

"Putting something this personal on the pages of a newspaper does not come easy. We Midwesterners are instinctively private to begin with, and I’m not used to viewing this as anyone else’s business.

"But it’s clear to me that at a moment like this, being more open about it could do some good. For a local student struggling with her sexuality, it might be helpful for an openly gay mayor to send the message that her community will always have a place for her.

"And for a conservative resident from a different generation, whose unease with social change is partly rooted in the impression that he doesn’t know anyone gay, perhaps a familiar face can be a reminder that we’re all in this together as a community."

Buttigieg closes with the hope that someday his children will wonder why a mayor coming out would ever be newsworthy.

Having been elected mayor of South Bend at the age of 30, and serving in Afghanistan with the US Navy Reserves, I think Buttigieg sounds like a great example to folks in the Midwest that gays are not only people they know, but folks who set a great example.

(h/t JMG)