Chasten and Pete Buttigieg — Photo: @Chasten / Twitter
Pete Buttigieg has voices his concerns about the future of his marriage should Amy Coney Barrett be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
The former mayor of South Bend, Ind., was appearing on Fox News on Sunday, Oct. 18 to discuss Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.
Buttigieg, who married husband Chasten in 2018, told Fox News’ host Chris Wallace that the legality of their union could be in question should Barrett — who has a history of anti-LGBTQ sentiments — be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.
He noted that there are “all kinds of interesting questions on the future of the American judiciary,” before pivoting from health care to same-sex marriage.
“Right now as we speak the pre-existing condition coverage of millions of Americans might depend on what is about to happen in the senate with regard to this justice,” he continued. “My marriage might depend on what is about to happen in the Senate with regard to this justice.”
Same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2015, following the Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell decision.
However, earlier this month two Supreme Court justices called for the Obergefell decision to be overturned — effectively revoking marriage equality in those states without existing same-sex marriage laws.
In a dissent written for a separate case related to same-sex marriages, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas argued that the court had bypassed the democratic process in Obergefell, and said the landmark ruling would “continue to have ‘ruinous consequences for religious liberty.'”
Barrett, a social conservative, has been accused of “hostility” towards marginalized groups, with LGBTQ advocates alleging that she would “dismantle” LGBTQ rights should she be confirmed by the Senate.
During her confirmation hearings, Barrett had to apologize after calling sexual orientation a “preference,” a term Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) noted is “used by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice.”
“It is not,” Hirono continued. “Sexual orientation is a key part of a person’s identity.”
On Fox News, where he has gained a reputation for strong condemnations of the Trump administration as a surrogate for former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, Buttigieg slammed Senate Republicans for trying to jam through Barrett’s nomination before the election.
“It’s not in the spirit of our constitution, or our legal system, or political system for them to do this,” he said. “Most Americans believe that the American people ought to have a say. We’re not talking about an election that’s coming up, we’re in the middle of an election, millions of Americans are voting and want their voice to be heard.
“There’s an enormous amount of frustration that this Senate can’t even bring itself, with Mitch McConnell, to vote through a Covid relief package. People are suffering, people are hurting, there’s no clear end in sight,” he continued. “There’s been a bill we brought to them months ago coming out of the house, they won’t touch it, they won’t do anything but suddenly they have time to rush through a nomination that the American people don’t want. Whatever specific word you use for it, wrong is the word I would use.”
Donald Trump has targeted yet another law firm for taking up cases challenging his administration's anti-transgender policies and for formerly employing a prosecutor involved in a special counsel investigation of his 2016 campaign.
In an executive order, President Trump stripped lawyers from Jenner & Block LLP of security clearances, barred them from entering federal buildings (which could include, in some cases, federal courthouses), and pressured federal contracting agencies to terminate any existing contracts for services that they have with the law firm.
The order declares that Jenner & Block's actions on behalf of its clients are a threat to national security, undermine U.S. interests, and conduct "harmful activity" through their pro bono work.
Muhsin Hendricks, the world's first imam to publicly come out as gay in 1996, was shot dead in South Africa on February 15 in what appears to be an ambush. Eastern Cape provincial police confirmed that the 58-year-old was killed in a possible targeted hate crime.
According to police, Hendricks and a driver were inside a gold Volkswagen T-Roc SUV in Bethelsdorp when a silver Hilux double cab stopped in front of the car, blocking its way. Two unknown suspects, their faces covered, exited the cab and fired multiple shots at the VW before fleeing the scene. The driver, who survived the attack, realized that Hendricks had been killed by gunfire.
Masked attackers in Israel are reportedly using Grindr to lure and entrap members of the LGBTQ community to severely harm them.
According to reports, the assailants are creating fake profiles on the popular dating app and arranging meetings in remote locations in the city of Haifa.
The victims are then ambushed and reportedly stabbed with sharp weapons. A few assailants have attempted to carry out lynchings.
The Aguda, an LGBTQ task force, documented at least ten such incidents in recent months, reports the Jerusalem Post.
But some victims have chosen not to report the attacks, making it more difficult for police to track down and arrest offenders.
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