Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown has
distanced himself from anti-gay language in the 2012 Republican
Platform.
The platform, which still needs to be
ratified by Republicans meeting in Tampa this week, outlines many of
the party's official positions.
The proposed document's marriage plank
supports a federal “constitutional amendment defining marriage as
the union of one man and one woman” and “campaigns underway in
several other states to” amend their constitutions to define
marriage as a heterosexual union. The platform also criticizes
President Barack Obama's decision to no longer defend the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA) – the 1996 law which bars federal agencies from
recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples – in
court. The document also suggests a Republican president would
consider reinstating “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.”
Brown, who is in a heated race against
Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, a strong supporter of gay
rights, told Boston
Spirit, a Boston Globe blog, that he is at odds with
parts of the platform.
“Scott Brown believes gay marriage is
settled law in Massachusetts and it's time to move on to issues like
jobs and the economy,” the Brown campaign wrote in an e-mail. “He
opposes a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man
and woman.”
Boston Spirit notes that the
statement is “notably silent on where the candidate stands on DOMA
and whether he would vote to overturn the law.”