Before the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage to be legal, then-mayor Pete Buttigieg wrote about why coming out matters. In a 2015 opinion essay to the South Bend Tribune, Buttigieg talked about how he struggled to accept his own sexuality and hopes for a future where more people feel comfortable sharing who they are. Buttigieg has made history as the first openly gay candidate to run for president of the United States with his 2020 campaign. He currently serves as the Secretary of Transportation, making him the first out LGBTQ cabinet secretary confirmed by the Senate. In August of this year, Buttigieg and his husband Chasten announced they have become first-time parents. The couple has been married since 2018. October 11 is #NationalComingOutDay, which marks the anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987. "For a local student struggling with her sexuality, it might be helpful for an openly gay mayor to send the message that her community will always have a place for her," Buttigieg wrote in 2015. "And for a conservative resident from a different generation, whose unease with social change is partly rooted in the impression that he doesn’t know anyone gay, perhaps a familiar face can be a reminder that we’re all in this together as a community."