Buttigieg: Pence Uses Religious Beliefs as ‘an Excuse to Harm’ Others

During Tuesday’s CNN broadcast of “New Day,” South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg reacted to Vice President Mike Pence saying in an interview Friday that the 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful has an issue with him using the First Amendment to speak out against homosexuality.

Buttigieg said his issue with Pence is that he uses his policies to “hurt people” — including children.

“The vice president is entitled to his religious beliefs,” Buttigieg stated. “My problem is when those religious beliefs are used as an excuse to harm other people. That was a huge issue for us in Indiana when he advanced a discriminatory bill in 2015 under the guise of religious freedom that said it was lawful to discriminate, provided you invoked religion as your excuse. And I just believe that’s wrong.”

He concluded, “[P]art of faith, right, is that all of us can evolve and grow better. Maybe he will evolve to eventually believing that it shouldn’t be lawful to discriminate against people for being gay. If he makes that development, I would welcome that, and I would praise that.”

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent

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