Pete Buttigieg in Iowa (Scott Olson/Getty)

Gay presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was met by anti-gay protesters yesterday in Iowa who chanted homophobic messages at him.

The incidents occurred during two of Buttigieg’s appearances in Iowa yesterday, according to CNN.

At one event, two protesters shouted “Remember Sodom and Gomorrah” at Buttigieg. The quote references the biblical cities where residents engaged in “sexual immorality” and were punished with “eternal fire.”

One protester said Pete Buttigieg ‘stands for the murder of unborn babies’

In another incident, a protester stood up and said: “Grandparents, do you want your grandchildren following his example? God loves us… but he stands for the murder of unborn babies.”

After the man was removed by security, Buttigieg—who is mayor of South Bend, Indiana—defused the tension with a joke.

“That gentleman believes that what he is doing is in line with the will of the creator,” Buttigieg said afterwards. “I view it differently. We ought to be able to view it differently and never question one another’s choices.”

“The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you.” – Pete Buttigieg

At one point, Buttigieg said: “The good news is, the condition of my soul is in the hands of God but the Iowa Caucuses are up to you.”

Speaking to CNN after his two Iowa events, Buttigieg said he would “prefer to have those kinds of debates in a respectful format, versus through interruption, but a president is going to have to deal with tougher things than being interrupted in a speech.”

Meanwhile, a voter also asked Buttigieg’s husband Chasten what he thought of the hecklers. He replied: “We are beyond divisiveness. That is what we are out here to talk about.”

Buttigieg has opened up in the past about the challenges he faced in coming out as gay

Buttigieg officially announced his candidacy for the presidential election in 2020 on Sunday.

The openly gay politician has opened up in the past about the challenges he faced in coming to terms with his sexuality.

In an interview with Rachel Maddow, which aired yesterday, Buttigieg explained that he didn’t come out as gay until he was 33-years-old because he didn’t feel ready.

“I guess I just really needed to not be [gay],” he explained. “There’s this war that breaks out I think inside a lot of people when they realise that they might be something that they’re afraid of. And it took me a really long time to resolve that.”

Buttigieg’s openness could be winning him more support. Hollywood stars including Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, Glee‘s Jane Lynch, West Wing‘s Bradley Whitford and Mandy Moore of This is Us are among those to have made donations to his campaign.