Senator Scott Brown is the only member
of the Massachusetts congressional delegation missing from an It Gets
Better video released on Wednesday.
A spokesman for the Republican senator
told the Boston Globe that Brown was asked to appear in the
video but declined.
“Scott Brown has a strong record at
the state and federal level against bullying and believes that all
people regardless of sexual orientation should be treated with
dignity and respect,” Colin Reed told the paper. “His main focus
right now is on creating jobs and getting our economy back on track.”
While Brown recently supported repeal
of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” the policy banning gay and bisexual
troops from serving openly that ends on September 20, he opposes gay
marriage, and does not support repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), which forbids federal agencies from recognizing the legal
marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
In the 1-minute video, the 10 lawmakers
who represent Massachusetts – including Senator John Kerry and
Congressman Barney Frank – urge troubled LGBT teens considering
suicide to hang in there.
“So it will get better,” Frank, who
is openly gay, says near the end of the video. “It will get better
because you're helping it become better. And this is going to be in
the end the kind of world we all want to live in.” (The video is
embedded in the right panel of this page.)
(Related: Thirteen
Democratic U.S. Senators reach out to gay teens.)