Irish PM Brings Boyfriend to Meeting with Mike Pence
Leo Varadkar, the openly gay Irish Prime Minster, brought his partner on an official visit to meet with US Vice President Mike Pence, reports the BBC.
Varadkar took Dr Matt Barrettto a breakfast meeting with Pence at his official residence, Number One Observatory Circle.
The Prime Minister tweeted that the pair received “a really warm reception.”
“I stand here this morning as leader of my country, flawed and human, but judged by my political actions and not by my sexual orientation, my skin tone, my gender or religious beliefs,” Varadkar said in a statement to the media.
“And I don’t believe my country is the only one in the world where this story is possible. It is found in every country where freedom and liberty are cherished.
“We are after all, all god’s children. That’s true of the United States as well, the land and home of the brave and free.”
Varadkar is currently one of the only openly gay world leaders.
Pence has a well-known and fraught history with LGBT+ rights, with a 2000 election manifesto that eluded to supporting gay conversion therapy. Pence’s wife also teaches at a school that openly discriminates against gay students and teachers.
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