There are a few things you should know about U. S. Sen. 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 antigay 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 Sen. 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.”
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.
D’Anne Witkowski has been gay for pay since 2003. She’s a freelance writer and poet (believe it!). When she’s not taking on the creeps of the world, she reviews rock ’n’ roll shows in Detroit with her twin sister.