Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mayor Pete Buttigieg Will Attend LGBTQ Forum

Expect to see Democrats Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete Buttigieg at a presidential forum in Iowa that is focused on LGBTQ issues.

"I'm honored to be a part of this forum and fight for our values," Sen. Warren told The Advocate. "Everyone should be free to be who they are and love who they love without violence or fear for their life."

"Everyone should be able to have health care, to work, get an education, and build a secure future for themselves and their loved ones without discrimination," she continued.

Warren, the senior U.S. senator from Massachusetts of "she persisted" fame, announced in February that she's running for president. And the former Harvard professor has remained a persistent champion of LGBTQ rights.

From her first term in the Senate, she earned a 100 score from the Human Rights Campaign in part thanks to strong support for the Equality Act and opposition to Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

Warren was also the only candidate to have a presence at last weekend's DragCon in New York City.

Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Ind., has also enjoyed a surprising rise from obscurity to top-tier candidate. The out politician was the first openly gay candidate to appear in a nationally televised presidential debate. He and husband Chasten Buttigieg this year have tackled an array of issues, including addressing persistent homophobia that has followed the candidate on the campaign trail.

The forum, announced in August, takes place September 20. The Advocate, GLAAD, One Iowa, and The Gazette are sponsoring the event. It will be held at Coe College's Sinclair Auditorium and will ensure LGBTQ issues earn due attention in the 2020 presidential primaries.

Zach Stafford, The Advocate's editor in chief, Gazette columnist Lyz Lenz, and One Iowa Policy Director Keenan Crow will moderate.

The need for the forum became apparent as early debates all but ignored LGBTQ issues. Meanwhile, GLAAD says LGBTQ Americans have weathered more than 124 anti-LGBTQ attacks in policy and rhetoric from a hostile Trump administration. Those range from a trans military ban to voiced opposition to the Equality Act. Meanwhile, polling suggests support for LGBTQ causes is waning among younger voters.

The announcement of these two candidates now brings the total to nine confirmed to take the stage -- and more candidates are expected to announce attendance later this week.