Pete Buttigieg shrugged off anti-gay protesters yelling at him about Sodom and Gomorrah: ‘The condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa caucuses are up to you’

REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

At two campaign events in Iowa on Tuesday, openly gay Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was heckled by protesters.
At the Des Moines event some yelled "Remember Sodom and Gomorrah", two cities in the Bible which were destroyed because of the sexual practices of their citizens.
In response, Buttigieg said: "You know, the good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you."
Buttigieg is Christian, and has made his faith and same-sex marriage a centerpiece of his campaign.
Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg shrugged off hecklers at two campaign events in Iowa on Tuesday after they attacked him for being gay.

Buttigieg, who is open about his sexuality and same-sex marriage, was shouted at by protesters on Tuesday at an event in Des Moines. Two people yelled "Remember Sodom and Gomorrah," invoking the Biblical cities whose inhabitants were punished by God because of their sexual immorality.

The candidate, who is an Episcopalian Christian, responded: "You know, the good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God, but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you."

At an event in Fort Dodge earlier, a protester interrupted Buttigieg to say to him: "you betray your baptism."

After the man was ejected from the event, Buttigieg replied "We are so dug in in such passionate ways."

"That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator," he said. "I view it differently. We ought to be able to view it differently."

The protests were led by anti-abortion activist Randall Terry, who came from out of state, according to CNN.

Once little-known to voters outside South Bend, Indiana, where he is mayor, Buttigieg has surged in popularity in recent weeks. He formally announced his candidacy for the presidency on Sunday.

Pete Buttigieg is joined by his husband Chasten Glezman before he announced that he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a rally in South Bend, Ind., Sunday, April 14, 2019.

Michael Conroy/AP Images

Buttigieg married his husband, Chasten, in a church service last year.

At the Des Moines event, Buttigieg went on to discuss how best to defeat President Donald Trump, who in a tweet late Tuesday touted Buttigieg’s two potential rivals, Senator Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, as his most likely opponents in 2020.

"We’ve got to acknowledge — without giving an inch on the racism or xenophobia that played a role in that campaign — we’ve got to also pay attention to the things that make people susceptible to that message and make sure we’re addressing them," Buttigieg told supporters.

NOW WATCH: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being praised for her line of questioning at Michael Cohen’s hearing — watch it here