The crowd collectively sighed in admiration when a nine-year-old Colorado boy's question was read aloud to United States presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg at a campaign event in the state's capital Denver.
"Thank you for being so brave," Zachary Ro had written at the beginning of his question.
"Would you help me tell the world I'm gay, too?" the young boy asked. "I want to be brave like you."
Zachary joined Mr Buttigieg on stage. The former South Bend mayor told the young boy he could already sense he did not need his advice on bravery.
"It took me a long time to figure out how to tell even my best friend that I was gay, let alone to go out there and tell the world," he said.
"To see you willing to come to terms with who you are in a room full of a thousand people, thousands of people you've never met... that's really something."
Pete Buttigieg shared an emotional moment with a young supporter in Denver on Saturday night. Source: Getty Images
But the Democrat hopeful did offer some words "that might be useful".
"The first thing is that it won’t always be easy," Mr Buttigieg said, "but that’s okay because you know who you are.”
“The second thing I want you to know is that you will never know who’s taking their lead from you, who’s watching you and deciding that they can be a little braver because you have been brave.”
Mr Buttigieg last week insisted his sexuality would not damage electoral prospects after a veteran radio host said US President Donald Trump would relish going head-to-head with a candidate who kissed his husband on stage.
"Boy, can you see Trump have fun with that?" Rush Limbaugh told his listeners.
The 38-year-old Democrat, who married his partner Chasten Glezman two years ago, said at the time he would not take lectures from supporters of a man who has faced accusations ranging from rape to sleeping with a porn star.
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg accepts a bracelet from Zachary Ro, who asked the former mayor to help him tell others he is gay. Source: Getty Images
At the Denver question-and-answer event, Zachary presented the presidential hopeful with a rainbow bracelet to wear, which Mr Buttigieg accepted gracefully.
