House panel OKs defense bill, delays gay service

AP/Miami Herald ^ | 5/12/11 | Donna Cassata

[markomalley]

A House panel approved a defense bill early Thursday that would delay President Barack Obama's new policy allowing gays to serve openly in the military and limit the commander in chief's authority on slashing the nation's nuclear arsenal.

By a vote of 60-1, the House Armed Services Committee approved the broad, $553 billion defense blueprint that would provide a 1.6 percent increase in military pay, fund an array of aircraft, ships and submarines, slightly increase health care fees for working-age retirees and meet the Pentagon's request for an additional $118 billion to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The lone no vote was Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif.

The Republican-controlled panel challenged the Democratic president on scores of issues, from building an extra fighter jet engine to his decision-making on the fate of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(snip)

In a series of contentious votes, the panel added provisions that strike at repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The votes came even as Americans increasingly support an end to the 17-year-old ban, with polls finding three-quarters say openly gay men and women should be allowed to serve in the military.

The committee, on a 33-27 vote, adopted an amendment by Rep. Duncan Hunter Jr., R-Calif., that would require all four service chiefs to certify that the change won't hurt troops' ability to fight. The repeal law only requires certification from the president, defense secretary and the Joint Chiefs chairman.

[soycd]

>The votes came even as Americans increasingly support an end to the 17-year-old ban, with polls finding three-quarters say openly gay men and women should be allowed to serve in the military.

Yeah right. This must be the same “polling” that shows 0stupid at 60% approval.

[fwdude]

The votes came even as Americans increasingly support an end to the 17-year-old ban, with polls finding three-quarters say openly gay men and women should be allowed to serve in the military.

The American people are buying a con, when they say the repeal will merely allow homosexuals to be open about it. Like all Demoscum agendas, this is much broader than that - it is, in actuality, a push to promote homosexuality and political correctness with the most powerful hand possible.

Ask the same public the relevant questions regarding the total outworking of this plan (including "marriage" and "benefits," which WILL be in the pike) instead of the dressed-up-pig version, and the result will be vastly different.

Remember when homosexuals were just "asking" to be left alone and free from harassment in their own homes? Look where concessions to that has gotten us.

[MSF BU]

Duncan Hunter, one of the few young men in congress to have had the balls to volunteer and deploy into combat. In some ways it is a disgrace that there are so few of his ilk. Hunter, Kline, West, etc. are thankfully there to provide credibility when it comes to military issues and especially combat. I like the fact that Hunter pointed out that he has more combat experience than any of the better know administration proponents.