Over the past several weeks, ThinkProgess LGBT has highlighted 12 anti-LGBT Senate candidates running in the 2012 elections. Each has worked to hurt the cause of equality and each is running against an opponent with a record of support for LGBT Americans.

Here are the ThinkProgress Anti-LGBT Dirty Dozen:

ARIZONA: Rep. Jeff Flake (R). Though he was one of 35 Republicans in the House to vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007 (after voting to kill the measure moments before in a procedural vote), but did so only after protections for transgender Americans had been removed from the measure. He refused to support the 2010 transgender-inclusive version of the bill because he claimed those protections made it “too nebulous” and said he thought gender-identity protections would be “too difficult to implement for business owners to respond to.” Worse, he refused to even adopt a non-discrimination policy against LGBT discrimination for employees in his own Congressional office. After spending a week alone on a deserted island, he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he took the trip because he “felt like a pansy.” A spokesman later said Flake “didn’t realize that that word can have a negative connotation.”

FLORIDA: Rep. Connie Mack IV (R). A May campaign press release touted a “Social Conservatives for Mack Coalition” including several leaders of the 2008 Florida anti-gay marriage amendment proponents’ group. The text slammed Mack’s then-primary opponent for allegedly being “an early and vocal supporter of the gay agenda.” Mack’s lone pro-LGBT vote over his House career was a 2009 procedural vote during consideration of the hate crimes bill.

HAWAII: former Gov. Linda Lingle (R). In 2010, Lingle vetoed a civil unions bill that passed the state legislature, arguing that it was “essentially marriage by another name,” and should be decided by referendum. Making matters worse, she invited LGBT activists to attend her announcement ceremony, only to devastate them with her decision. Donald L. Bentz, executive director of Equality Hawaii, told ThinkProgress that Lingle made “an inhumane spectacle.” In a 1997 interview, she argued that marriage discrimination will always be permissible because it is currently popular, saying marriage equality “cannot ever be adopted in Hawaii because the people don’t support it. They simply don’t support it.”

MASSACHUSETTS: Sen. Scott Brown (R). In 2001, he told the Boston Globe it was “not normal” for two women to have children. His comments — focused at then-State Sen. Cheryl Jacques and her domestic partner Jennifer Chrisler — also belittled Jacques’ “alleged family responsibilities.” While he later backed off of what he called a “wrong choice of a word that is probably going to crucify me,” Brown has to this day never directly apologized to Jacques and Chrisler. Brown refused to be in the Massachusetts delegation’s “It Gets Better” anti-suicide video and was one of just three state senators to oppose repeal of a 1913 anti-interracial marriage law that then-Gov. Mitt Romney used to prevent out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in Massachusetts.

MICHIGAN: Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R). At least nine times, he signed on as a co-sponsor of anti-equality measures including the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, a proposal to amend the U.S. constitution to prevent states from voluntarily recognizing same-sex unions, and a radical proposal to take away the right of same-sex couples to challenge discriminatory laws in state or federal courts. In his 2010 gubernatorial campaign, Hoekstra ran an ad in which Focus on the Family Founder and anti-LGBT activist James Dobson praises him for supporting “traditional marriage.”

MISSOURI: Rep. Todd Akin (R). He argued on the House floor that marriage is only “about a love that can bear children,” and warned that “anybody who knows something about the history of the human race knows that there is no civilization which has condoned homosexual marriage widely and openly that has long survived.” He called Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal “an eclipse of reason” and “the imposition of somebody’s social agenda that they want to impose on the military,” and criticized President Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality as an “unquenchable desire to tear down the traditional family unit brick by brick.”

MONTANA: Rep. Denny Rehberg (R). In 2008, after Idaho’s Sen. Larry Craig (R) plead guilty to lewd conduct involving a male police officer in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport restroom, Rehberg decided to leave a care-package for Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID). On a congressional trip to the Middle East, Rehberg reportedly left “a stuffed sheep with gloves attached to it, a Village People CD, books on cross-dressing and sign language and a T-shirt that reads, ‘My senator may not be gay, but my governor is Butch.’” The governor of Idaho’s name is C.L. “Butch” Otter. A spokesman claimed “no offense was intended,” Rehberg boasted that he was proud of the travel package and “spent a bit of time putting the things together.” At his Senate campaign kickoff, he told supporters: “I will never, ever, ever be ashamed to stand for the life of the unborn child and the sanctity of traditional marriage.”

NEVADA: Sen. Dean Heller (R). In 2006, Heller said on his campaign website that he “supports traditional marriage between one man and one woman and will work to defend Nevada values in Congress.” This year, he reaffirmed his belief that “marriage is between one man and one woman” and said he “would not support changing that.” But, he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “I don’t want it to be the issue in the campaign. I truly don’t want this to be the issue.” He has a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign for his House tenure.

NEW MEXICO: former Rep. Heather Wilson (R). Throughout her career, Wilson has repeatedly noted that though she tolerates LGBT people, she doesn’t much like having to do so. “With respect to homosexuality,” she told ABC News in 2006, “there are things I’m willing to tolerate that I’m not willing to approve of.” She has also opposed anti-bullying laws, comparing anti-gay bullying to mere “teasing.

OHIO: State Treasurer Josh Mandel (R). Mandel told a Tea Party rally in July that he would “protect the sanctity of marriage,” adding that “this is a fight that I will never, ever back down.” In May, he told the conservative Human Events that “Ohioans demonstrated in ’04 their support for traditional marriage when they overwhelming voted for an amendment saying just this. That’s my position, and it is an issue in this [Senate] race.” As a state representative, Mandel voted against a bill to made it illegal to discriminate against LGBT Ohioans in hiring, firing, and housing decisions based purely on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Ironically, a Mandel spokesman claimed in 2011 that “Josh has always opposed discrimination against any American citizen.”

VIRGINIA: former Sen. George Allen (R). In a 1994 radio broadcast, then-Gov. Allen told listeners that he didn’t want his children “even seeing the news of some of these things here, thinking that, this is acceptable behavior.” He added: “I don’t think this is acceptable behavior… and as a matter of government policy I don’t think we should condone that sort of behavior.” In the same broadcast, he praised Virginia’s unconstitutional Crimes Against Nature law –which made private consensual sex between same-sex adults a felony — saying “It’s against the criminal law in Virginia, that homosexual acts are illegal, and I think should stay illegal.” Perhaps unaware that President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law in 2009, on Allen’s current campaign website he bizarrely promises to “vote against adding sexual orientation to federal hate crimes statutes, as he did in 2005.”

WISCONSIN: former Gov. Tommy Thompson (R). Thompson’s opposition to LGBT equality dates back nearly three decades. In his successful 1986 campaign to for Governor of Wisconsin, he repeatedly pledged to eliminate his predecessor’s Council on Lesbian and Gay Issues. Dick Wagner, who co-chaired the council, told ThinkProgress that Thompson did not reauthorize the Council on Lesbian and Gay Issues but “did continue the Bicycle Coordinating Council.” During a 2007 Republican presidential primary debate, Thompson was asked whether employers who believe “homosexuality is immoral” should be allowed to fire gay employees. Thompson forcefully responded that “business people have to make their own determination” on whether to fire employees based on sexual orientation. A day later, he reversed himself, saying “I didn’t hear the question properly and I apologize.”

Twelfth in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

Less than halfway through his first term as Ohio State Treasurer, Josh Mandel (R) is his party’s nominee against incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). Unlike Brown, a strong supporter of LGBT equality, Mandel has a consistent record of opposing the LGBT community.

Over his four years as a state representative, two years as State Treasurer, and this Senate campaign:

1. Mandel has opposed marriage equality for same-sex couples. Mandel told a Tea Party rally in July that he would “protect the sanctity of marriage,” adding that “this is a fight that I will never, ever back down.” In May, he told the conservative Human Events that “Ohioans demonstrated in ’04 their support for traditional marriage when they overwhelming voted for an amendment saying just this. That’s my position, and it is an issue in this [Senate] race.”

2. Mandel thinks it should be legal to fire someone just for being gay. In 2009, as a state representative, Mandel voted against Ohio HB 176, the state’s proposed Equal Housing and Employment Act. That law would have made it illegal to discriminate against LGBT Ohioans in hiring, firing, and housing decisions based purely on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Ironically, a Mandel spokesman claimed in 2011 that “Josh has always opposed discrimination against any American citizen.”

3. Mandel abandoned his earlier support for domestic partnership benefits. In 2000, as undergraduate student government president at The Ohio State University, he supported a plan to let qualified students buy student health insurance for their domestic partners. At the time, he told the campus newspaper, “The undergraduate student government representatives have been and will continue to advocate for domestic-partner benefits in public and private settings. Students want it, students deserve it, and the university has a responsibility to provide it.” Eleven years later, his spokesman told Politifact Ohio that Mandel now “feels he was wrong in college about domestic partner benefits and feels strongly that they should never be funded with taxpayer dollars.”

Watch Mandel speaking at the anti-LGBT CPAC convention:

In just a few years in politics, Mandel has already made it clear he will oppose equality at every chance. His election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Eleventh in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

In late August, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) won his party’s nomination for the open seat of retiring Sen. Jon Kyl (R). He faces former George W. Bush administration Surgeon General Richard Carmona (D), a former independent. Unlike Carmona, who is a strong supporter of LGBT equality, Flake has has voted against the LGBT community at nearly every opportunity.

 

Over his twelve years in the House of Representatives and this Senate campaign:

1. Flake voted against marriage equality and even domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. In 2004 and 2006, he voted for a constitutional amendment requiring “marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.” Last year, he backed an amendment reaffirming the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act. He also voted for a 2007 amendment restricting the District of Columbia government from using any federal funding to provide domestic partnership benefits, a 2011 amendment reaffirming the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and a 2004 bill of questionable constitutionality to strip federal courts of the right to review whether DOMA is unconstitutional. Last August told constituents he believes marriage should be a state issue, but reaffirmed his support for keeping DOMA — which prevents the federal government from recognizing marriages from states that opt to allow marriage equality. He also co-sponsored a resolution condemning the Obama administration for the Department of Justice’s refusal to defend DOMA in court.

2. Flake thinks it should be legal to fire someone just for being transgender. Though he was one of 35 Republicans in the House to vote for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007 (after voting to kill the measure moments before in a procedural vote), but did so only after protections for transgender Americans had been removed from the measure. He refused to support the 2010 transgender-inclusive version of the bill because he claimed those protections made it “too nebulous” and said he thought gender-identity protections would be “too difficult to implement for business owners to respond to.” Worse, he refused to even adopt a non-discrimination policy against LGBT discrimination for employees in his own Congressional office.

3. Flake voted against Hate Crimes protections for LGBT Americans. In 2004, 2007 and 2009, he voted against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes laws.

4. Flake boasted of a 100 percent rating from a designated hate group. His 2006 campaign website boasted of a 100 percent rating by the Family Research Council. As recently as 2010, the group endorsed his re-election with “True Blue” status. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated FRC as a hate group for its record of “false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science.”

5. Flake had to apologize for calling himself a “pansy” in an interview. After spending a week alone on a deserted island, he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he took the trip because he “felt like a pansy.” A spokesman later said Flake “didn’t realize that that word can have a negative connotation” and that “he apologizes if anyone took offense to it.” His office posted a version of the interview on YouTube, with that section cut out.

Watch the redacted video of the interview:

Even after voting to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Flake’s Human Rights Campaign score — a zero for his first three terms in Congress — rose to just 20 percent for the 111th Congress.

Flake’s election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Tenth in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) was appointed last year by Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) to fill the vacancy created by Sen. John Ensign’s (R) resignation. He is currently running for a full term and is being challenged by Rep. Shelley Berkley (D). Unlike Berkley, a consistent 100% supporter of full LGBT equality, Heller has opposed the LGBT community at every opportunity since coming to Congress .

Though he had a reputation as a relatively moderate state legislator in the early 1990s, his record over his two-and-a-half terms in the U.S. House and his year in the U.S. Senate paints a different picture:

1. Heller has opposed marriage equality and even domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples — but no longer wants to talk about it. In 2006, Heller said on his campaign website that he “supports traditional marriage between one man and one woman and will work to defend Nevada values in Congress.” This year, he reaffirmed his belief that “marriage is between one man and one woman” and said he “would not support changing that.” But, he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “I don’t want it to be the issue in the campaign. I truly don’t want this to be the issue.” He also voted for a 2007 amendment restricting the District of Columbia government from using any federal funding to provide domestic partnership benefits.

2. Heller voted against Hate Crimes protections for LGBT Americans. In both 2007 and 2009, he voted against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes laws.

3. Heller thinks it should be legal to fire someone just for being gay. He voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007, which would have banned employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

4. Heller opposed letting LGBT servicemembers serve openly. He voted against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal twice in 2010. In 2009 he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he supported continuing the discriminatory policy.

5. Heller has been a total zero on LGBT equality. Over the course of the 110th and 111th Congresses, the Human Rights Campaign rated him as voting against the interests of the LGBT community 100 percent of the time.

Though Heller doesn’t want equality for LGBT Nevadans to be an issue in the campaign, he does acknowledge that voters face a “stark choice” between his right-wing approach and his opponent’s progressive views. Watch him explain:

With his consistent opposition to LGBT equality, Heller’s election to a full term in the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Ninth in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

In June, Montana Republicans nominated Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) to challenge incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D). Unlike Tester, a fairly reliable supporter of LGBT equality, Rehberg has opposed the LGBT community at every opportunity.

Over his time as Lt. Governor of Montana, his unsuccessful 1996 Senate campaign, his 12 years in the House of Representatives, and this Senate campaign:

1. Rehberg proudly pranked a fellow Congressman with a gay-mocking “Idaho Travel Package.” In 2008, after Idaho’s Sen. Larry Craig (R) plead guilty to lewd conduct involving a male police officer in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport restroom, Rehberg decided to leave a care-package for Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID). On a congressional trip to the Middle East, Rehberg reportedly left “a stuffed sheep with gloves attached to it, a Village People CD, books on cross-dressing and sign language and a T-shirt that reads, ‘My senator may not be gay, but my governor is Butch.’” The governor of Idaho’s name is C.L. “Butch” Otter. A spokesman claimed “no offense was intended,” Rehberg boasted that he was proud of the travel package and “spent a bit of time putting the things together.”

2. Rehberg has consistently fought against marriage equality and even domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. In his Senate campaign kickoff, he told supporters: “I will never, ever, ever be ashamed to stand for the life of the unborn child and the sanctity of traditional marriage.” He has indeed shown no shame, voting twice for a federal constitutional amendment requiring “marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.” He also voted for a 2011 amendment reaffirming the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 2007 amendment restricting the District of Columbia government from using any federal funding to provide domestic partnership benefits, and a 2004 bill of questionable constitutionality to strip federal courts of the right to review whether DOMA is unconstitutional. In May, he reiterated his support also for his state’s same-sex marriage ban, saying “Montana’s state constitution says ‘Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state,’ and I agree.”

3. Rehberg railed against hate crimes protections for LGBT Americans, calling them “extremist.” In addition to repeatedly voting against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes laws, he has also been an outspoken opponent of such “special rights.” In a letter to then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), he decried “extremist hate crime legislation” being attached to a Defense authorization bill. He called the protections “divisive social policy,” dismissed them as a “thinly veiled attack on federalism,” and added that they “violate our nation’s founding principles.”

4. Rehberg thinks it should be legal to fire someone just for being gay. He voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007, which would have banned employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Worse, he refused to even adopt a non-discrimination policy against LGBT discrimination for employees in his own Congressional office.

5. Rehberg opposed letting LGBT servicemembers serve openly. He voted against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal twice in 2010.

6. Rehberg boasts of an award he received from a designated hate group. He was “honored” by the Family Research Council in 2003 with their “True Blue” award. The group’s president Tony Perkins praised him as a “consistent, stalwart ally of American families,” who should be “commended for his adherence to the belief that strong marriages and families are essential aspects of a resilient society.” Rehberg called it an “important recognition of my commitment to the American family.” The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated FRC as a hate group for its record of “false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science.”

7. Rehberg pushed abstinence-only education, while opposing AIDS funding. In 1994, he opposed funding for Montana AIDS patients, arguing that “the problem with AIDS is: you got it, you die. So why are we spending money on the issue?” He also, as chairman of the relevant House appropriations subcommittee, voted to slash HIV/AIDS prevention funds while adding funds for anti-gay and ineffective abstinence-only sex education programs.

8. Rehberg has been a zero for LGBT Americans — literally. According to the Human Rights Campaign, he has opposed the interests of the LGBT community 100 percent of the time. He earned zero ratings for the 107th, 108th, 109th, 110th, and 111th Congresses.

Watch Rehberg dodge a question from a gay constituent about the second-class citizenship of LGBT Montanans:

Though Rehberg says he wants to “get government out of our lives,” he has consistently voted against giving the same respect to LGBT Americans. Rehberg’s election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Eighth in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

Last month, fourth-term Rep. Connie Mack IV (R) won the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson (D). The seat was previously held by Mack’s father, former Sen. Connie Mack III (R). Unlike Nelson, a strong supporter of LGBT equality, Mack has voted against the LGBT community at every opportunity.

 

Over his eight years in the House of Representatives and this Senate campaign:

1. Mack sent out a homophobic campaign press release attacking a primary opponent. A May campaign press release touted a “Social Conservatives for Mack Coalition” including several leaders of the 2008 Florida anti-gay marriage amendment proponents’ group. The text slammed Mack’s then-primary opponent for allegedly being “an early and vocal supporter of the gay agenda.”

2. Mack voted against marriage equality and even domestic partnership benefits for same-sex couples. In 2006, he voted for a constitutional amendment requiring “marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman.” In 2011, he backed an amendment reaffirming the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act. He also voted for a 2007 amendment restricting the District of Columbia government from using any federal funding to provide domestic partnership benefits.

3. Mack voted against Hate Crimes protections for LGBT Americans. In both 2007 and 2009, he voted against adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes laws.

4. Mack thinks it should be legal to fire someone just for being gay. He voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2007, which would have banned employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

5. Mack opposed letting LGBT servicemembers serve openly. He voted against Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal twice in 2010.

6. Mack’s been a virtual zero on LGBT equality. Unlike his wife Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), who has a fairly solid pro-equality voting record and has been vocally supportive of her transgender stepson Chaz Bono, he has done almost nothing for LGBT equality. Over the past three Congresses, his Human Rights Campaign ratings have been just 10, zero, and zero. The 10 score for the 111th Congress came for a 2009 procedural vote during consideration of the hate crimes bill.

Though Mack has consistently voted against LGBT equality, he has largely avoided talking about LGBT issues. Despite this, he ironically claims in a recent campaign ad that “freedom is the core of all human progress” and that “America is the land of freedom.”

Watch the ad:

With his quiet but unwavering opposition to LGBT equality, Mack’s election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Seventh in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

After losing in the primary in her first Senate bid in the 2008 election, former Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) is now the Republican nominee against Rep. Martin Heinrich (D) for the open seat of retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D). Unlike Heinrich, a consistent supporter of LGBT equality and a backer of marriage equality, Wilson has opposed the LGBT community on several major issues.

Over her ten-plus years in the House of Representatives and her two Senate campaigns:

1. Wilson said she “tolerates” but doesn’t “approve of” homosexuality. Throughout her career, Wilson has repeatedly noted that though she tolerates LGBT people, she doesn’t much like having to do so. “With respect to homosexuality,” she told ABC News in 2006, “there are things I’m willing to tolerate that I’m not willing to approve of.” That disapproval was evident in her voting record: according to the Human Rights Campaign, she voted for LGBT equality just 5 percent of the time in the 110th Congress and zero percent of the time in the 107th, 108th, and 109th Congresses.

2. Wilson voted against Hate Crimes protections for LGBT Americans. In both 2000 and 2007, she voted against adding sexual orientation to the federal hate crimes laws. In 1998, in the wake of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, Wilson argued that there was no need to add hate crimes protections for LGBT people because “it’s already law” — citing a 1994 provision that only covered crimes committed when the victim was engaged in already-protected federal activities like voting.

3. Wilson opposed anti-bullying laws, comparing anti-gay bullying to mere “teasing.” Earlier this year, she outlined her opposition to SB 555, the Student Non-Discrimination Act, explaining that “with respect to this particular agenda we have to recognize as parents that children tease each other.” Wilson mocked the bill — which would merely provide LGBT students with similar civil rights protections against bullying to those already granted to students bullied based on race and gender — dismissing it as “so broad it would actually punish children and say that it’s prohibited to express an opinion with respect to homosexuality in the schools.”

4. Wilson has consistently and vocally opposed marriage equality and civil unions. She frequently notes that “marriage is the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife” and repeatedly voted for a federal constitutional amendment to force that definition on states. In her 2012 campaign kickoff speech, she ironically claimed, “I trust people more than I trust government to make the best decisions for themselves and for their families,” while noting that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. Asked in 2006 whether she would support civil union-like rights for same sex-couples, she said she would not: “I think that’s marriage. And I think marriage is an institution that we should protect and nurture and it’s not, you know, it’s not between two women, two men, or between, between a group of people. It is a union between one man and one woman, and it’s something that we should honor in law, as well as in our communities.”

5. Wilson has not even practiced non-discrimination personally. In her first Congressional race, she said that she would not support “special rights” for LGBT people — code words for opposing equal treatment under the law. In addition to voting against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, she refused to even adopt a non-discrimination policy against LGBT discrimination for employees in her own Congressional office.

Watch Wilson explain why anti-gay bullying need not be punished:

On her campaign website, Wilson calls herself “an advocate for families.” Clearly, some restrictions apply. Her election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Sixth in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

After losing his 2006 re-election after his infamous bullying of an Indian-American campaign tracker who he called “macaca,” former Sen. George Allen (R-VA) is seeking to return to the Senate. In June, he won the Republican nomination to run against former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) for the open seat of retiring Sen. Jim Webb (D). Unlike Kaine, who has a solid record of supporting equality, Allen has amassed a consistently anti-LGBT record.

Over his time as Governor of Virginia, in the U.S Senate, and as a candidate:

1. Allen said homosexuality was not “acceptable” and should be “illegal.” In a 1994 radio broadcast, then-Gov. Allen told listeners that he didn’t want his children “even seeing the news of some of these things here, thinking that, this is acceptable behavior.” He added: “I don’t think this is acceptable behavior… and as a matter of government policy I don’t think we should condone that sort of behavior.” In the same broadcast, he praised Virginia’s unconstitutional Crimes Against Nature law –which made private consensual sex between same-sex adults a felony — saying “It’s against the criminal law in Virginia, that homosexual acts are illegal, and I think should stay illegal.”

2. Allen has vigorously fought to stop any recognition for same-sex unions. As Governor, he signed Virginia’s state defense of marriage law in 1997. Allen campaigned for the 2006 state constitutional amendment that banned all state recognition of same-sex unions. He co-sponsored the “Federal Marriage Amendment.” He continues to reaffirm his support for both the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act and a federal constitutional amendment, noting “My stand on marriage is clear: I believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman.”

3. Allen opposed Hate Crimes protections for LGBT Americans — and still does. Though he promised in his 2000 Senate campaign that he would support adding sexual orientation to the federal hate crimes law, in 2005 he changed his mind. “I wouldn’t define it as a flip-flop,” his Virginia state director told reporters. Allen’s reasoning? He feared “some courts that would use that as a building block toward civil rights status, which he is opposed to.” In other words, he worries that treating terrorism against LGBT Americans in the same way as the law treats terrorism against other minority groups would be okay if it weren’t for the risk of a slippery slope that might mean LGBT Americans would have other civil rights. Perhaps unaware that President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law in 2009, on Allen’s current campaign website he bizarrely promises to “vote against adding sexual orientation to federal hate crimes statutes, as he did in 2005.”

4. Allen opposed adding employment protections for LGBT people. Fearing anything that would raise sexual orientation to civil rights “status,” he has never supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act or other efforts to end anti-LGBT discrimination. In 2004, the Human Rights Campaign listed him as refusing to adopt a voluntary office policy not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Allen’s civil rights record is not much better for other minority groups–he opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and even voted against making Martin Luther King Day a holiday in Virginia.

5. Allen opposed allowing same-sex couples to raise kids. In his 1994 anti-gay radio tirade, he said he opposes same-sex couples raising kids because it is “not in the best interests of a child to be raised in that environment.” His view has not evolved — last year, an Allen spokesman told Politico that the former Senator has never been a supporter of same-sex couples adopting and that he “agrees with Governor [Bob] McDonnell’s [R] recent decision to keep current adoption regulations in place.” Allen also backed efforts to allow adoption agencies to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. His campaign website notes that he “does not support same-sex couples adopting children.”

6. Allen fought against same-sex couples being eligible for low-interest home loans. As Governor, he backed a restriction preventing the Virginia Housing Development Authority from making low-interest home loans to LGBT families. “Governor Allen doesn’t agree with these relationships and is not going to be advocating these relationships in his administration. This could establish a precedent that could lead to a redefinition of what family is,” an Allen spokesman noted at the time, adding that homosexuality was “basically viewed by the governor as an unnatural relationship.”

7. Allen opposed allowing LGBT servicemembers to serve openly and opposes chaplains conducting same-sex ceremonies. In 2000, he criticized his Senate race opponent’s support for allowing gay and lesbian Americans to serve in the military as “Vermont values.” Allen told the Veterans of Foreign Wars in the same campaign that he opposed using the military for “social experimentations.”

Watch Allen explain why he still supports the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act:

While some anti-LGBT politicians quietly oppose equality, Allen puts his opposition front-and-center in a special section on his campaign website. Allen’s return to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Fifth in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

After winning a special election in 2010 to fill the remainder of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) Senate term, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) is seeking a full term this November. Unlike his challenger, pro-LGBT Democrat Elizabeth Warren, Brown has opposed the LGBT community on several major issues.

Over his time in the Massachusetts state legislature and a Senator:

1. Brown actively worked to repeal marriage equality in Massachusetts and in the District of Columbia. Announcing “I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Brown ran for the Massachusetts state senate in 2004 promising to back a state constitutional amendment to take away the civil marriage rights for same-sex couples that had been granted by the state’s Supreme Judicial Court. He refused to explain his opposition to marriage equality, saying only “It’s just a personal belief, based on my religious upbringing. It’s just my feeling.” In the state senate, he repeatedly voted for anti-LGBT marriage constitutional amendments. In the U.S. Senate, Brown voted to suspend same-sex marriages in DC pending a city-wide referendum. As recently as last year, Brown’s campaign site reaffirmed his belief that “marriage is between a man and a woman.”

2. Brown has opposed efforts to allow legally married same-sex couples in his own state to be recognized federally. Though he now claims that same-sex marriage in Massachusetts is “settled law” and says this issue should be decided on a state-by-state basis, he has opposed efforts to extend federal recognition to his own constituents’ legal unions. When the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in court, Brown complained, “We can’t have presidents deciding what laws are constitutional and what laws are not.” In 2011, a Brown aide told Bloomberg that the Senator still supports the DOMA, though a 2012 letter from Brown to a constituent carefully avoids expressing any position on the law.

3. Brown stood with Mitt Romney to preserve an anti-miscegenation law used to discriminate against LGBT couples. He was one of just three Senators to oppose repeal of a 1913 anti-interracial marriage law that then-Gov. Mitt Romney used to prevent out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in Massachusetts.

4. Brown does not support a federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act.In the 111th and 112th Congresses, Brown refused to sign onto a bill to protect LGBT Americans from employment discrimination. Pam’s House Blend reported last September that Brown told a voter he opposed a federal non-discrimination law, saying “the states should take care of it, I believe in states’ rights.”

5. Brown obstructed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal — which he supported — to ensure tax cuts for the rich. After initially opposing a repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, Brown announced in December 2010 that he would support allowing gay and lesbian servicemembers to serve openly. But, he announced he would not support even an up-or-down vote on the measure in the Senate until after Congress agreed to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. Even after he got his way on tax cuts, Brown joined a filibuster of the first attempt at repeal before ultimately backing the final version.

6. Brown attacked same-sex parents as “not normal.” In 2001, he told the Boston Globe it was “not normal” for two women to have children. His comments — focused at then-State Sen. Cheryl Jacques and her domestic partner Jennifer Chrisler — also belittled Jacques’ “alleged family responsibilities.” While he later backed off of what he called a “wrong choice of a word that is probably going to crucify me,” Brown has to this day never directly apologized to Jacques and Chrisler.

7. Brown refused to be in the Massachusetts delegation’s “It Gets Better” anti-suicide video. Every member of the 12-person Massachusetts Congressional delegation joined in the effort except Brown. A member of his staff explained that Brown declined to send a message of support to LGBT youth because “His main focus right now is on creating jobs and getting our economy back on track.” Though the staffer claimed Brown has a “strong record” of opposing bullying, he has not co-sponsored any of the anti-bullying bills pending in the Senate.

8. Brown was the lone State Senator to stand with Mitt Romney in opposition to funding for gay and lesbian youth services. In 2006, then-Gov. Romney vetoed an increase in funding for the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. When the Massachusetts Senate overrode Romney’s veto by a 36 to 1 margin, Brown was the lone vote opposing the funding for at-risk LGBT youth.

9. Brown co-sponsored a bill to allow parental notification and opt-opt from any school discussion of “alternative sexual behavior.” He backed a proposed “Parents Rights” Bill to require parental consent for schools to mention “alternative sexual behavior” in the classroom.

Watch the “It Gets Better” video in which Brown refused to appear:

In an April op/ed in the Bay Windows, a New England LGBT newspaper, Brown mocked Warren’s support for pro-equality legislation, saying “I don’t come before you with a checklist of items promising that I will be an advocate for you on each and every one of them. My opponent has already started down that road, promising to support everyone’s pet project. That’s not the way I have ever operated.” Indeed, it is not.

Brown’s re-election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.

Fourth in a series examining how anti-LGBT Senate candidates have worked to hurt the cause of equality.

With her primary win earlier this month, former Gov. Linda Lingle (R-HI) will be the Republican nominee against Rep. Mazie Hirono (D) for the open seat of retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka (D). Unlike Hirono, a 100 percent supporter of LGBT equality, Lingle has opposed the LGBT community on several major issues.

Over her time as Mayor of Maui County, Hawaii GOP chair, and as Governor:

1. Lingle has consistently and vocally opposed marriage equality. In her unsuccessful first run for Governor in 1998, her website noted that “Our state should not legalize same-sex marriage.” She endorsed a 1998 state constitutional amendment that allowed the legislature to ban same-sex unions. In a 1997 interview, she argued that marriage discrimination will always be permissible because it is currently popular, saying marriage equality “cannot ever be adopted in Hawaii because the people don’t support it. They simply don’t support it.” In 2002, when she mounted her successful second campaign for governor, her website debunked any rumor that she might support equal marriage, boasting “Linda Lingle opposes same-sex marriage, and in 1998 voted to preserve traditional marriage.”

2. Lingle demonstrated “unwarranted cruelty” when vetoing a civil unions bill. In 2010, Lingle vetoed a civil unions bill that passed the state legislature, arguing that it was “essentially marriage by another name,” and should be decided by referendum. Making matters worse, she invited LGBT activists to attend her announcement ceremony, only to devastate them with her decision. Donald L. Bentz, executive director of Equality Hawaii, told ThinkProgress that Lingle made “an inhumane spectacle.” Activists were told on arrival “you’ll be seated with the media, you are not allowed to react, there will be no questions. If you react in any way, shape or form, you’ll be escorted out of the conference.” Supporters were not even permitted to cry from the disappointment. Her successor, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D), signed a similar civil unions bill into law in 2011.

3. Lingle refused to sign a hate-crimes bill. While she allowed the bill to become law without her signature, Lingle refused to sign a 2003 bill to add gender identity to the state’s hate crimes protections. Though members of Hawaii’s transgender community testified about the intimidation and attacks they had experienced, Lingle dismissed the importance of the bill, explaining that she did not sign the measure because “It was just not something that I felt strongly about.”

4. Lingle vetoed non-discrimination protections for transgender Hawaiians. In 2005, the state legislature passed House Bill 1450, a bill to ban employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression. Lingle vetoed the bill, calling it “objectionable because it contains no limiting terms or interpretational guidelines” and could lead to “controversy and unwarranted lawsuits.” Her successor, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D), signed a similar non-discrimination bill into law in 2011.

Watch Lingle announce her veto of a civil unions bill:

Lingle pledges on her 2012 campaign site that “No matter who proposes an idea, law, rule or regulation: if it’s good for Hawaii and our people, then I’ll be for it. If it’s not in our interests, then I’ll be against it. You have my commitment on that.” Her record would suggest that she does not believe that principal applies to LGBT Hawaiians. Her election to the U.S. Senate would be a huge threat to LGBT people and families.