Brown voted for a 2004 state constitutional amendment to define marriage as between "one man and one woman" and which would have established civil unions. In 2007, Brown explained that he was opposed to gay marriage but also pointed "out that he does support civil unions for same-sex couples." Brown refers to the currently legalized same-sex marriage in New Hampshire and Massachusetts as a settled issue, which he does not wish to change. Brown has said he personally believes marriage is between a man and a woman, but would still oppose a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He is in favor of civil unions. He opposes ending the Defense of Marriage Act, but otherwise favors leaving the issue to the states to decide. After initially claiming neutrality on "don't ask, don't tell", the ban on openly gay military personnel, he joined a handful of Republicans who broke with their party to repeal the ban in December 2010. In 2012, he voted in favor of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act which included provisions to assist victims regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity and which prohibited its funds from being given to programs that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. He was one of 15 Republicans in the Senate who voted in favor of the re-authorization.