Although we are in the year 2020, the issue of LGBTQ+ rights is still a prevalent conversation happening with many different sides being taken. With Pete Buttigieg running for president this election season, this issue has come up quite a bit. Rush Limbaugh received heavy criticism for recent comments he made regarding Buttigieg, and whether or not he believed America had progressed enough as a country to elect a gay president. 

Limbaugh has been criticized for a statement he made February 12th saying, “Despite all the great progress and despite all the great wokeness, and despite all the great ground that’s been covered, America’s still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing his husband on the debate stage president. They have to be saying this, don’t they?” 

This was inappropriate on Limbaugh’s part, and evidence shows that he is wrong when asking this question. It appears that he is using the guise of the general opinion of Americans to state his own view on the subject, possibly in an attempt to minimize backlash. 

While there are surely people who will use Buttigieg’s sexual orientation as a reason not to vote for him, there is also a large group of people who don’t see it as an issue. There have been recent studies showing that several Americans would not have an issue with Buttigieg’s sexual orientation regarding him as president. A Gallup poll reported earlier this month that 78% of Americans stated that they would have no issue with voting for a gay person as president. 

According to this poll, that is more than those who said they would vote for a socialist candidate (45%) or someone over the age of 70 (69%). However, this was less than those who would vote for a female candidate (93%) or a Catholic candidate (96%). While I can’t say for sure if America as a country is progressive enough to elect a gay president, I also feel that there are currently more people than ever who would support Buttigieg. It seems like a possibility to me, especially considering recent studies. Buttigieg definitely shows that we as a country are moving in a positive direction. 

Considering the United States didn’t elect a black president until 2008, there was a time fairly recently when that didn’t seem possible. Even if Buttigieg does not get elected as president, simply having a gay candidate for president that has received this much support is extremely progressive. These small steps are moving in a positive direction, and it appears that Buttigieg’s sexual orientation isn’t an issue for most Americans.