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Written by Lisa Neff, Staff writer
May 19, 2011
Rep. Duncan Hunter. – Photo: Courtesy
The House Armed Services Committee recently passed a defense spending bill containing an amendment intended to delay the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Iraq war veteran Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, proposed the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Enacted in 1993, “don’t ask, don’t tell” bans gays and lesbians from serving openly in the Armed Forces. Congress passed legislation repealing the policy in late 2010, which the president signed. However, the Defense Department is still in the process of implementing the repeal, and legal advisors continue to caution gay servicemembers against coming out.
Hunter’s amendment would not void the repeal, but it could slow the process. He proposed that all the service chiefs certify that repealing DADT won’t impact military readiness. The current repeal process requires the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to certify DADT’s repeal.
Additional amendments to the defense bill would prohibit the use of Defense Department facilities for same-sex marriages, even in states where same-sex marriage is legal.
U.S. Rep. Todd Akins, R-Mo., introduced the proposal that would ban the use of military facilities for same-sex ceremonies.
The defense bill is now headed to the floor in the House, where the GOP is the majority party and where civil rights advocates count a lot of “yes” votes.
However, the amendments aren’t likely to find wide support in the Senate.
Alexander Nicholson, a former Army interrogator and the director of Servicemembers United, said the offering of the amendments was “a shameful and embarrassing waste of time.”
