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His record on LGBTQ+ rights is dismal.
As the November elections loom, and democracy and LGBTQ+ rights are on the ballot, Republican candidates around the country pose a significant threat to equality. In Nevada, that’s Sam Brown. Brown, challenging incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen for a U.S. Senate seat, embodies a particularly stark strain of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment that has become increasingly visible within the Republican Party that supports "don't say gay" laws and refuses to protect marriage equality.
Brown’s tenure as president and chairman of the Nevada Faith and Freedom Coalition demonstrates his deep entrenchment in the anti-LGBTQ+ movement. The organization has vehemently opposed marriage equality and backed legislation that permits discrimination against same-sex couples under the guise of religious liberty. According to the Coalition’s statements, when President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act in December 2022, the group decried it as an assault on religious freedom, a perspective that Brown has echoed.
Richard Hernandez, a spokesperson for Brown, told The Advocate that “Sam supports gay marriage.” He added, “When he was voluntary chair, his chapter worked on raising awareness of human trafficking and helping people recover from the COVID shutdowns.” Hernandez claimed that Brown’s “stance [on marriage equality] hasn’t changed.”
During his 2022 Senate campaign, Brown praised Florida’s "don’t say gay" legislation, framing it as necessary against what he described as “indoctrination” in schools. This rhetoric aligns with conservative figures like Wayne Allyn Root, a right-wing media figure who has called for similar legislation in Nevada. Critics of the law argue that its parental notification requirements effectively mandate the outing of LGBTQ+ students to potentially unsupportive guardians, a policy that could have devastating consequences, advocates say.
In 2022, after the leak of the Dobbs opinion, Brown was asked during a debate if he was concerned about same-sex marriage being taken away after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Brown refused to say he thought same-sex marriage should be protected. Instead, he said, “This is an issue that I don’t think that there’s any chance is overturned. But the broader question is, why is government in the business of marriage to begin with?”
Brown also had a history of affiliations with anti-LGBTQ+ churches. Since relocating to Nevada in 2019,he has been actively involved with Calvary Chapel Reno-Sparks, where pastor Phil McKay has denounced LGBTQ+ acknowledgment as a form of idolatry. According to McKay, government support for LGBTQ+ rights is “the kind of idolatry that destroys souls.” Brown has also spoken at Las Vegas Calvary Church and Liberty Baptist Church, both known for their vehemently anti-LGBTQ+ doctrines. Dave Teis, the founder of Liberty Baptist Church, has called homosexuality a “filthy, horrible sin,” according to the Nevada Independent. Calvary Church’s pastor, Jimmy Morales, saidPride Month was “destroying their souls and their lives for all eternity” before Brown spoke to the congregation.
In contrast, Democrat Rosen, endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, has been a stalwart defender of LGBTQ+ rights. According to the HRC, she has played a crucial role in combating anti-LGBTQ+ amendments in crucial funding legislation and in helping the Respect for Marriage Act become law. Rosen’s re-election is seen as pivotal in maintaining a pro-equality majority in the U.S. Senate, especially as the nation faces an onslaught of conservative efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ protections. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking nearly 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced by Republicans in 2024 nationwide.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include remarks from Sam Brown spokesperson Richard Hernandez.
