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Scott Brown, Mitt Romney spokesman behind offensive Twitter account

Brown refused to participate in anti-suicide video series; spokesman turned incident into controversial Twitter joke using pseudonym

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Scott Brown was absent from the Massachusetts delegation's 'It Gets Better' video. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

A fake Twitter account meant to make fun of a Massachusetts politician ended the month of July by making light of the “It Gets Better” campaign to help prevent teen suicide has been linked to a spokesman for both Sen. Scott Brown and Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior campaign adviser to U.S. Senator Scott Brown, admitted unapologetically this week to the Boston Globe that he was behind the “CrazyKhazei” Twitter account meant to lampoon Alan Khazei, who hopes to face off against Sen. Scott Brown as the Democratic candidate from Massachusetts in 2012.

MORE IN THE BLADE: WHERE DOES HERMAN CAIN’S STAND ON LGBT RIGHTS?

“It’s horrifying that Scott Brown has chosen to look the other way after his senior adviser was caught making fun of a project whose sole aim is to prevent youth suicide,” Kevin Franck, communications director with the Massachusetts Democratic Party told the Blade. “Instead of telling LGBT youth across Massachusetts that it gets better, the junior senator has demonstrated that he is perfectly willing to tolerate the same kind of anti-gay bullying that has tormented so many young people.”

Fehrnstrom admitted setting up the fake Twitter account, telling Glen Johnson of the Boston Globe “It was my Twitter account.”

“Sometimes we take our politics too seriously and this was my way of lightening things up,” Fehrnstrom told the Globe. “As they say in politics, if you can’t stand the tweet, get out of the kitchen.”

Fehrnstrom, however, may have gone a bit too far when he posted a tweet at the expense of the popular, “It Gets Better” campaign to help communicate hope to LGBT youth most at risk to attempt suicide.

Screen Shot

Screen Shot of the offending tweet on the "CrazyKhazei" Twitter feed. (Screen capture by Washington Blade)

“I promise to devote all my time in office making gay videos. Shame on Scott Brown for focusing on jobs!” the July 31 tweet read.

The ‘joke’ came at a time when Scott Brown received criticism for not joining the rest of the Massachusetts delegation to the U.S. Congress in making an “It Gets Better” video encouraging troubled and bullied LGBT youth to seek help rather than end their lives in suicide. According to studies LGBT teens are up to four times more likely to do when compared to straight counterparts.

Scott Brown released a statement saying: “While it’s clear Eric was seeking to inject a little levity into politics on his own time, I wasn’t aware of what he was doing.”

“While Senator Scott Brown may think that this was ‘just injecting a little levity’ in the campaign, he should know that what he’s trying to pass off as juvenile behavior is actually very hurtful to LGBT people not only in his home state, but around the country,” Michael Mitchell, National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director, said in a statement released last week. “The fact that Fehrnstrom set up a fake account that appeared to be from a Democratic challenger is dirty politics, plain and simple.”

MORE IN THE BLADE: COULD GINGRICH BE THE GOP NOMINEE?

The Twitter account has since been deleted, but staffers from the Democratic ‘Blue Mass Group’ captured the stream before it was deleted, and compiled all of the tweets into a single PDF file. The Washington Blade was able to grab a screen capture from that file which shows the Tweet.

Bay State Stonewall Democrats Co-chair Claire Naughton expressed outrage over the tweets. “Statements like that are indicative of a person’s value system. I cannot believe that Sen. Brown has not already fired Fehrnstrom from his campaign.”

Brown was the only member of the Massachusetts delegation to Congress to refuse to participate in making an “It Gets Better” video, which has seen the participation of the President, Secretary of State Clinton, many sports teams, celebrities and national political and entertainment figures.

At the time, his spokesman Colin Reed explained the Senator’s absence saying “His main focus right now is on creating jobs and getting our economy back on track.”

Despite several attempts, the Blade was unable to receive a response from the Scott Brown campaign.

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Federal Government

UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House

University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Screen capture: C-SPAN)

In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”

The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.

“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”

Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”

Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”

“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”

Under former President Joe Biden, the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.

Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.

The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.

According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.

The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.

The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.

In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.

The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.

New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.

“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.

The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”

“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.

Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”

His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.

“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”

“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”

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