Pete Buttigieg: The Right Is Making ‘God Smaller’ with Religious Liberty Claims

During the broadcast of CNN’s town hall on LGBTQ issues on Thursday, 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg argued that by refusing services to gay people as an expression of religious freedom made “God smaller.”

A town hall participant asked, “As you know in 27 states including my state of Florida, LGBTQ people can be denied service in restaurants and other public spaces based on who they love or who they’re perceived to love. Restaurant owners can deny service based on so-called religious liberty. As a Christian, can you point to teachings in faith that state things like thou  shall not serve the gays meatloaf in diners or other religious verse that which provides instruction to the faithful to deny services or housing or other services to LGBTQ people ”

Buttigieg said, “What a great question. And without telling others how to worship, the Christian tradition that I belong to instructs me to identify with the marginalized and the greatest thing that any of us has to offer is love.”

He continued, “Religious liberty is an important principle in this country and we honor that. It’s the case that any freedom that we honor in this country has limits when it comes to harming other people. We say that the right to free speech does not include the right to yell fire in a crowded theater. A famous justice said my right to swing my fists ends where somebody else’s nose begins, and the right to religious freedom ends where religion is being used as an excuse to harm other people.”

He added, “When religion is used in that way, to me, it makes God smaller. It to me is an insult not only to us as LGBTQ people, but I think it’s an insult to faith to believe that it could be used to hurt people in that way.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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