Rep. Brown becomes first black member of Congress to endorse Buttigieg

By : Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association
January 13, 2020
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Above: Rep. Anthony Brown (Photo by Michael K. Lavers of the Washington Blade)

Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.), who has made LGBTQ rights a cornerstone of his congressional career, on Jan. 9 endorsed Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg, becoming the first black member of Congress to endorse the gay presidential hopeful.

“Our country needs a president who can heal our divides and restore decency to our nation’s highest office,” Brown said in a statement. “Pete’s message is not defined by exclusion but welcomes everyone into the fight to tackle our nation’s greatest challenges. As we fight for the future of the soul of our country here at home, we also remain entangled in endless wars abroad and the threats to American lives and interests around the world have increased.”

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The Other Side Of Life: American Boxing Day

By : Jason Leclerc
January 2, 2020
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Christmas, in 2019 America, is as much a secular holiday as it is a religious one. It caps the annual era of good feelings that starts with Thanksgiving and lasts until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 25.

We’ve often taken the interstice between Christmas and New Years as a celebratory dead zone, a time to recover and prepare for the seeing-out of the old year. History has proven that Dec. 26 has been a date with ups and downs, ranging from the revolutionary to the mundane.

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Buttigieg says nation ‘absolutely’ ready for gay president

By : Chris Johnson OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE, COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL LGBT MEDIA ASSOCIATION
December 16, 2019
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ABOVE: Mayor Pete Buttigieg, photo courtesy Buttigieg’s Facebook page.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg pushed back Friday on the idea a gay candidate couldn’t win election as president, saying the nation was “absolutely” ready.

Buttigieg, whom many polls show is the front-runner in Iowa and New Hampshire, made the remarks during a forum hosted by national political reporter Robert Costa at the Washington Post headquarters.

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Black LGBTQ activists split over Harris, Buttigieg spat

By : Chris Johnson OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE, COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL LGBT MEDIA ASSOCIATION
November 27, 2019
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In the aftermath of Sen. Kamala Harris criticizing Mayor Pete Buttigieg for bringing up the gay experience when confronted with his issues with black voters, black gay activists living at the intersection of the two groups are split in their reactions.

The responses from black gay activists ranged from backing Harris, saying neither was right and rejecting the spat in a call for unity against President Trump.

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Harris: Buttigieg ‘a bit naive’ for comments on gay experience

By : Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association
November 25, 2019
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ABOVE: Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-South Bend, Ind.) at the Democratic presidential debate on Nov. 20. (Screen capture via YouTube)

The day after the presidential debate in which Pete Buttigieg reflected on the experience of being gay in America when asked about his issues with diversity, Sen. Kamala Harris called the South Bend mayor “a bit naive” to bring that up, according to CBS News.

Last week, during a a Black Women Power Breakfast hosted by Higher Heights, a national political organization for black women that supports Harris, the California Democrat said it was wrong for Buttigieg to “compare our struggles.”

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Victory Institute CEO slams media for reporting black voters won’t back LGBTQ candidates

By : Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association
November 19, 2019
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ABOVE: President and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund and LGBTQ Victory Institute Annise Parker speaks at the 2019 LGBTQ International Leaders Conference. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The head of the LGBTQ Victory Institute took the media to task Nov. 15 amid a flurry of media reports Pete Buttigieg isn’t faring well in the South because black voters are reluctant to support a gay presidential candidate.

Annise Parker, CEO of the Victory Institute, made the remarks in her “State of Victory” speech at the annual LGBTQ International Leaders Conference, which the organization hosted this year in D.C. at the JW Marriott Hotel.

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11.14.19 Publisher’s Desk

By : Rick Claggett
November 14, 2019
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Progress, not perfection: One of the many mantras for those in a 12-step program. The idea is that no one is perfect; therefore striving for or searching for perfection is futile. One should simply try to do the next right thing, work toward being better one day at a time. It sounds nice on paper, but putting it in practice is much more difficult. It takes tools and time to train your brain to think this way.

I can’t say if this is the way things have always been or if I am just opening my eyes to it in the wake of information overload, but our society seems too preoccupied with perfection — giving way to an all or nothing culture.

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Klobuchar: Woman with Buttigieg’s record would miss debate

By : Wire Report
November 13, 2019
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ABOVE: Sen. Amy Klobuchar speaks with Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.” (Screenshot from CNN)

CHICAGO (AP) | The 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign drew a record six female candidates to the field. But with just less than three months until voting starts, only one has risen to the top tier.

Is it sexism or just politics?

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Buttigieg calls latest Trump move enabling anti-LGBTQ bias a ‘huge step backward’

By : Chris Johnson OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE, COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL LGBT MEDIA ASSOCIATION
November 4, 2019
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ABOVE: Pete Buttigieg denounces the Trump rule allowing anti-LGBTQ discrimination. (Photo by Chris Johnson)

DECORAH, Iowa | In the aftermath of the Trump administration unveiling a proposed rule change enabling taxpayer-funded adoption agencies to deny placement in LGBTQ families, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has denounced the move as “a huge step backward.”

The gay 2020 presidential hopeful made the comments on his Iowa campaign bus en route to a rally in Waverly, Iowa, under questioning from the Washington Blade.

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Mayors for Pete: Buttigieg hunts for support in city halls

By : wire report
November 1, 2019
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ABOVE: Mayor Pete Buttigieg, photo via Buttigieg’s Facebook.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) | As Pete Buttigieg works to prove the leader of a city of roughly 100,000 people is ready to assume the American presidency, he’s relying on help from politicians who would know best: his fellow mayors.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor has amassed a network of roughly 60 “Mayors for Pete,” a collection of local leaders pushing for his underdog bid. The group includes mayors from former industrial cities, thriving metros and tiny towns of just a few thousand people. It includes the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, a Rust Belt city like the one Buttigieg leads, and the mayor of West Sacramento, California, a rising progressive leader. About a third are from swing states Democrats need to win to take the White House. But just three are from the early voting states Buttigieg needs to win to become Democrats’ presidential nominee.

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The Other Side of Life: Our Pumpkin Patch

By : Jason Leclerc
October 25, 2019
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For the past few years, in the time between the Epiphany and MLK Day, the pumpkins we set out in the yard after Thanksgiving finally deflate, broadcasting seeds into a corner of our yard for the next year’s patch of potential jack-o-lanterns. We watch as those vines yield breathtaking, bright orange flowers and then, lately, as the next Halloween tricks by us, wither without ever yielding pumpkins.

For two years now, our patch has been quick to tease and slow to yield. Despite the fact that male flowers and female flowers live on the same vine, they have been unable to pollinate each other. The swollen stamen remain unsatisfied by the pistils just inches away.

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Mayor Pete Buttigieg talks historic campaign for LGBTQ History Month

By : Mark Segel
October 24, 2019
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Pete Buttigieg, who has served as mayor of South Bend, Indiana since 2012, came out as a gay man in a self-penned essay published by the South Bend Tribune on June 16, 2015. In April of this year, he declared his candidacy for president of the United States.

Buttigieg spoke with Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segel by phone ahead of the Human Rights Campaign’s LGBTQ-focused presidential town hall which aired on CNN Oct. 10. The interview was conducted exclusively for The LGBT History Project, a coalition of LGBTQ print and web publications including Watermark which span coast-to-coast.

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