Brown’s newly revealed 2007 “you’re through” threat against a fellow Republican may soon be true of his own anti-LGBT political career

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today condemned the newly revealed threat made by Scott Brown who told a fellow Republican state Senator “you’re through.” According to The Sun Chronicle, in 2007 Scott Brown threated the political career of his fellow state Senator after he stopped a ballot measure banning marriage rights for same-sex couples in Massachusetts.

“Scott Brown’s despicable threat against a fellow Massachusetts Republican may become a reality for his own political career,” said Marty Rouse, HRC’s National Field Director. “When he loses in November to New Hampshire U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, he’ll have lost in two different states, two elections in a row, to two different women. The people of New Hampshire will be telling Scott Brown, ‘you’re through.’”

In 2007, then Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown voted in favor of moving forward with a ballot measure to strip away marriage rights from same-sex couples in the Bay State—citizens who had been guaranteed the right to marry since 2004.  Further inflaming this betrayal to equality, The Sun Chroniclereported that he then allegedly threatened the Republican State Senator whose vote prevented the constitutional ban from being put on the ballot in the state, saying “you’re through”.  Refusing to be on the right side of history, he has repeatedly gone on the record to say he believes marriage should only be between a man and a woman. He also voted to block marriage equality in the District of Columbia as a U.S. Senator.

His anti-equality positions aren’t just limited to marriage either. As a U.S. Senator for Massachusetts, in both the 111th and 112th Congress, Scott Brown refused to publicly support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would have guaranteed millions of LGBT people in all 50 states explicit, reliable protections from discrimination in the workplace. He refused to support repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” when the Senate Armed Services Committee voted in favor of repeal in May 2010 and only supported repeal at the 11th hour in December 2010 when the Senate took final action.

Has Scott Brown’s positions changed? Now that he’s moved to New Hampshire to further his political ambitions, he’s seeking to represent the Granite State which has guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry since 2010 and has a strong tradition of valuing liberty and equality.  With a motto of “Live Free or Die”, the people of New Hampshire deserve to be represented by a Senator who is committed to equality for all.

In stark contrast, New Hampshire U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who is running for re-election, is a longtime champion for LGBT equality. Having earned perfect scores on the HRC Scorecard for both the 112^th and 113^th Congress, HRC is proud to endorse her.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

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