There are a few things you should
know about United States Senator Scott Brown. First, he’s a Republican. Second,
he currently represents Massachusetts in D.C. after he replaced Sen. Ted
Kennedy, a Democrat, in a special election held after Kennedy’s death in 2010.
Third, Brown is currently campaigning to keep his seat against the formidable
Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat. And, finally, Brown is no friend to LGBT people
(Warren is, though, FYI).
Oh, and he also posed naked (with
a wrist positioned chastely over his junk) for a Cosmo magazine in 1982 when he
was 22, which is probably the least offensive thing he’s ever done. (Fun side
note: if Warren had done the same thing, her political career would be D.O.A.
Aren’t double standards fun?)
While Brown’s campaign is
currently focused on proving that Warren is a "fake Indian," make no mistake
that his election would not just be terrible for people who have Native
American ancestry but "look white." It would also be a raw deal for LGBT
Americans.
Massachusetts may be the state
that brought legal marriage for gays and lesbians to America, but Brown
believes that "marriage is between a man and a woman." Granted, he told CNN’s
Piers Morgan that "it’s settled law in Massachusetts quite frankly and people
have moved on," but really, Brown hasn’t. At least not to the point that he’s
willing to let his state’s married gay and lesbian couples be recognized
nationwide. Brown supports the Defense of Marriage Act and also supported
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s use of a 1913 anti-interracial marriage law to
keep couples from outside of the state from coming to Massachusetts to get
hitched.
Brown also does not support the
federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (because, you know, "states’
rights"), repeatedly voted in favor of an anti-gay constitutional amendment in
Massachusetts, and essentially gave the middle finger to LGBT youth by refusing
to participate in the It Gets Better video made by the Massachusetts Congressional
delegation.
I suppose his absence isn’t that
surprising considering that, according to MassEquality.org, "In 2001 during a
session of the Massachusetts legislature, Brown referred to the decision of
then state Senator Cheryl Jacques, to have children [with her domestic partner
Jennifer Chrisler] as ‘not normal.’ He
also described her parenting role as ‘alleged family responsibilities.’"
Get it? Because she’s a lesbian
her family doesn’t really count, so her "family responsibilities" are
play-pretend.
Oh, and according to Think
Progress, Brown once attributed his opposition to gay marriage to "a personal
belief, based on my religious upbringing. It’s just my feeling." In other
words, "I oppose marriage equality because I feel like it."
Elizabeth Warren, on the other
hand, is out and proud about her support for LGBT equality. According to Think
Progress, Warren said, "As other states grapple with whether to support
marriage equality, I’m ready to move to the next step: End the two-tiered
system created by the Defense of Marriage Act. Our federal government should
not be in the business of selecting which married couples it supports and which
it treats with contempt."
As RuPaul would say, "Can I get
an amen up in here?"
Massachusetts, please don’t let
us down.