Photo: elizabethwarren.com
Washington – Today the Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization – announced the endorsement of Elizabeth Warren running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Warren fully supports LGBT equality and puts families and workers first. TIME magazine has twice included her among America’s 100 most influential people.
“We enthusiastically endorse Elizabeth Warren for the United States Senate,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Massachusetts was the first state to make marriage equality a reality, yet the Bay State is represented by anti-equality incumbent Scott Brown. It is time the people of Massachusetts are represented by a Senator who shares their values of fairness and equality. Elizabeth Warren will be that Senator.”
“I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the Human Rights Campaign,” said Elizabeth Warren. “As a country we should stand for fairness and equality for all our people — in employment, health benefits, educational experience, or spousal status. I am proud that Massachusetts has led the nation on equality issues, and it is time for the federal government to end the disparities and discrimination that LGBT people and their families face. I look forward to working with HRC to protect and promote fairness and equality.”
Warren is a committed supporter of LGBT equality. She has vowed to be a leader for equal rights for all in the U.S. Senate and has said she will work to end the two-tiered system created by the Defense of Marriage Act, pass a fully-inclusive Employee Non-Discrimination Act, and work to create welcoming schools and prevent bullying. In contrast, her opponent Sen. Scott Brown:
· Has consistently opposed marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples, going back to his time in the Massachusetts State Senate. He opposed the historic Goodridge decision in 2003, making Massachusetts the first state to recognize marriages of loving and committed same-sex couples, and wanted to send the question to voters. As a U.S. Senator, Brown supports the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition and more than 1100 protections and benefits to the thousands of Massachusetts gay and lesbian couples who have married since 2004. And in March, 2010, he voted to suspend the issuance of marriage licenses in Washington, D.C., after the city council granted marriage equality.
· Brown opposed repealing the archaic “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in May 2010 when it came before the Senate Armed Services Committee, and repeatedly voted to block consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act, which contained the repeal language, through the rest of that year, including a motion to proceed on December 9, 2010. Brown finally did support the repeal in two separate votes on December 18, 2010.
· During his two years in the Senate, Brown has not cosponsored key bills that would advance LGBT equality, such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Tax Parity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, Uniting American Families Act or Early Treatment for HIV Act. Brown has also taken many positions that would restrict a woman’s right to choose.
“When elected to the U.S. Senate, Elizabeth Warren will return the vision to Massachusetts that was lost when Scott Brown was elected. She will fight for all Massachusetts families and the LGBT community,” added Solmonese.
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.
Although I don’t care much for the HRC, I am thankful that they endorsed Warren, although who wouldn’t after Brown’s mostly anti-gay agenda.