Massachusetts Democrats urged Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) to endorse marriage equality as he prepared to host a fundraiser with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) on Monday. “We ask you to use your appearance with Gov. Christie tonight to come out in support of marriage equality and call on Gov. Christie to take a firm stance for equality in his home state,” the lawmakers wrote in an open letter. “Coming out in support of marriage equality tonight would be much more than a symbolic gesture. With the U.S. Senate considering a repeal of Defense of Marriage Act, your support would go a long way toward allowing marriage equality to spread throughout our nation.”
But a Brown spokesperson responded by dismissing the “social issue” and insisting that the Senator is focused on the economy and job creation. “Elizabeth Warren and her supporters are mistaken if they think this election is about social issues. It’s about jobs, and reducing debt and controlling spending,” Brown Spokesman Colin Reed said in an email to the Medford Patch.
As a Massachusetts state senator, Brown voted twice in 2007 to ban same-sex marriage, he opposes the right of gays and lesbians to adopt children, federal protections for LGBT people in the workplace, and has even refused to participate in an “It Gets Better” video with the rest of the Massachusetts congressional delegation.
A group of some 50 people also showed up at the fundraiser to protest Christie, who recently vetoed a bill extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians in New Jersey. Watch their efforts:
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