Republican senator makes insipid joke about Pete Buttigieg being penetrated by Joe Biden
Pete Buttigieg in South Bend, Indiana, where he announced he was dropping out of the presidential race. (Scott Olson/Getty)
A Republican lawmaker has become a lightning rod for criticism after the 68-year-old boomer implied that Pete Buttigieg is “used to” being sexually assaulted by men like Joe Biden.
Buttigieg, a smalltown Indiana mayor, barreled from obscurity into one of the potential front-runner of the race to unseat US president Donald Trump. Yet, amid a cluttered field of moderate candidates, Buttigieg suspended his campaign and endorsed Biden.
Indiana senator Michael Young commented on a meme about Buttigieg that insinuated that he is a bottom. It sees Biden, 77, reach over and squeeze the 38-year-old’s shoulder.
It’s 2020 and the @indgop are still issuing homophobic slander against Hoosiers.
Mike Young and the @INSenateGOP should apologize for this now. pic.twitter.com/NIHEvThZQM
— Drew Anderson (@AndersonDrew) March 4, 2020
LGBT+ people denounce lawmaker’s ‘unbecoming’ Pete Buttigieg joke.
Buttigieg was speaking at a pre-rally stop in Dallas where he first announced his support to the former vice president’s campaign.
The meme was posted by We Are Libertarian Podcast founder Chris Spangle on Facebook Tuesday. Young commented underneath the meme, according to screenshots: “He’s used to it.”
As the right, however, cannot meme, both the meme and Young’s comment backfired, drawing criticism from activists and councillors and Young later deleted his comment.
Openly queer Indianapolis city councillor Ali Brown condemned the lawmaker’s comments and called on him to apologise.
Hoosiers are fed up with homophobia in their state, especially in Marion County. What's worse, it sends a horrible message to LGBTQ youth.
This is unbecoming of a state elected office holder. The @INSenateGOP & Mike Young should apologize immediately. https://t.co/HjxNui51Ey— Councillor Ali Brown (@aliforindy) March 4, 2020
“Hoosiers are fed up with homophobia in their state, especially in Marion County,” Brown wrote in a tweet. “What’s worse, it sends a horrible message to LGBTQ youth,” she wrote on Twiter.
Young was co-author of a vicious bill in 2018 that sought to make it even more difficult for children to receive LGBT-inclusive sex and relationships education.
Moreover, in 2012, he was one of 20 Indiana state senator who, according to the Indianapolis Star Newspaper, signed a letter to the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles demanding the body stop issuing speciality licence plates that support a local LGBT+ youth group.
In 2016, he threw his support to legislation that would greatly expand religious exemptions in the state. Young claimed opponents of the bill “demagogued” and “fear mongered” it.
