Bachmann, Kline send letter to Senate to block gay soldiers from using military facilities
Thursday, November 03, 2011 at 3:00 am

Michele Bachmann, John Kline
Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline were among the signers of a letter to the U.S. Senate urging that body to pass an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would prohibit gay members of America’s Armed Forces from using military facilities for marriage ceremonies.
The Department of Defense, in the wake of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, has indicated that it will allow chaplains and same-sex couples to use facilities on a “sexual orientation-neutral basis,” something Republican members of the U.S. House oppose.
The letter was authored by Republican Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri and was signed by 86 members of the House.
“The Defense of Marriage Act was passed by a bipartisan vote in Congress and signed into law by President Clinton,” Akin said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this current administration is now directing the Department of Defense to ignore this law and perform gay marriages on military bases. I think this is wrong, which is why I offered an amendment to the House-passed defense bill making it clear that DOMA applies to the DOD. This letter calls for the Senate to add a similar amendment to their version of the bill. The Department of Defense should not be allowed to simply ignore laws they do not like.”
The House members complain that guidance by the Department of Defense General Counsel would make resources available to all members of the military. The general counsel guidance said that the “use of DoD real property and facilities for private functions, including religious and other ceremonies, should be made on a sexual orientation neutral basis.”
“This clear and deliberate violation of established U.S. law sets a dangerous precedent,” the letter states. “[The Defense of Marriage Act] makes it clear that for purposes of the federal government, marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. The use of federal property or federal employees to perform anything but opposite-sex ceremonies is a clear contravention of the law.”
The letter comes as same-sex couples in the military filed suit to overturn DOMA on Thursday in order to secure military benefits denied to them by the federal government.
22 Comments
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 7:07 am
ahh the 2 scumbags Michele Bachmann, John Kline speak…….yes, risk Life and Limb for the MIC / america……but STILL get Discriminated against……..america – doesn’t deserve to be spelled with a Capital -A- until it REALLY ACTUALLY LIVES UP TOO the words Liberty & Justice for ALL……in the meantime, those words will be treated like the EMPTY MEANING they have now.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 7:13 am
If only she’d advocate that we pay a lower tax rate since we’re getting fewer benefits and she wants to make sure we continue to receive fewer benefits. DISGUSTING.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 7:45 am
it is just as bad as the cubans in miami on the job sites pissing all over the toilet seats-DON”T BE LOOKING AT ME WHEN I’M NAKED-I”LL KNOCK YOU SILLY-YOU WANT SOMETHING UP YOUR BUTT? LET IT BE MY GUN.-you got a problem with being queer -don’t make it mine-go home and jack off with your buddies.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 8:13 am
Hunter wrote,
“it is just as bad as the cubans in miami on the job sites pissing all over the toilet seats”
Huh?
Only Cuban males do that apparently, not white guys, or crackers like Hunter.
Hunter, somewhere in your rambling confusion a point is trying to crawl its way out. Care to make another try?
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 11:38 am
It is very dangerous to say the government can prohibit a clergyperson from conducting a private, religious rite of his faith.
If a chaplain and his sponsoring denomination believe in gay marriage, and he wishes to conduct such a rite for one of his parishioners, is it the government’s place to say no?
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 12:28 pm
Why would these people try to deny the men and women of this country who are doing the bidding of these politicians?
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, you ignorant bigots.
Don’t forget when we leave the military, we still have the killer in us and if you’re a threat to America, you’re the enemy.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 1:24 pm
These two believe that government should stay out of people’s private business and personal lives. Except when it does what they want it to—then it’s perfectly okay. They disgust me.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 2:07 pm
Oh I’m sorry, did I miss something? Did these two solve the economic crisis while I was watching reruns of “Jersey Shore”? That’s the only explanation I can think of for this….
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 3:11 pm
Both section 2 and section 3 of DOMA have been found to be unconstitutional by separate courts. The jurisdictions of those decisions are limited, but the facts and laws behind them apply everywhere in the jurisdiction of the United States.
DOMA is a mistake waiting to be erased.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 4:27 pm
The military is past the homophobia stage, they’ve buried too many good marines, sailors, airmen and soldiers. They are now on the side of history recognizing all citizenry. DADT is dead and gone.
Big Hair Bad Makeup Bachmann and Slime Kline cannot change what has come to pass.
Jeff Wilfahrt, Rosemount, MN
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 4:48 pm
This is not close to insane, it is insane. Who in their right mind would even think of this?
These people need to be voted out before they bring an end to this country.
Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 5:04 pm
Politicians like This will be the end of the “liberty and justice for all”
too them, ALL = white, rich, Christian Men
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Comment posted November 3, 2011 @ 9:08 pm
Gays and lesbians are people too but not being a race of people they need to have a ‘core value’ that qualifies them for protection as an oppressed minority. LGBT people do not have the same core value as interracial couples did when the government thankfully tossed laws against interracial marriages. If they did then HIV may not be such a huge problem for the gay community in Europe. Surveys indicate nearly half of gays approve of multiple partners even after marriage. Gay states get gay foster parents. SSM is NOT a private matter for those who believe children are worthy of an upbringing according to social norms. Vote against SSM every chance you get!
Comment posted November 4, 2011 @ 7:52 am
Bachmann and Kline are obsessed – it’s unhealthy and unproductive to be consumed with persecuting Gay Americans as members of Congress. And wrong. A waste. Hateful. Ignorant. Tedious. It’s disgraceful behavior and speaks to their credibility and character. There are a certain groups motivated mostly by divisive socials issues where they judge and promote the discrimination of others while serious issues of the economy, healthcare, jobs, corruption, infrastructure continue to cripple us. They are both grifters.
Comment posted November 4, 2011 @ 10:16 am
John M. – Every human being has a basic right to not to be oppressed. It doesn’t stop at race. It doesn’t stop at religion. It starts at the very basic idea that we are all human beings and need to be treated as such. And PS – HIV is a human issue as well since any human is vulnerable, including all those heterosexuals who sleep with multiple partners. Your vision of gay and lesbian lives is a bit clouded – there are large and diverse scales of humanity in every corner of the world including yours.
Comment posted November 4, 2011 @ 10:51 am
John M,
I’m not sure what you mean by “core value”. Discrimination and bigotry are wrong regardless whether the difference is skin color or sexual orientation. HIV is a worldwide problem for all humans, not just gays in the US. Children raised by gay parents are just as normal as those raised by straights.
So basically your’s is a rant against gays because they’re “icky”. Try using reason and human understanding. and grow up to learn that discrimination is wrong.
Comment posted November 4, 2011 @ 11:00 am
John M,
You sir are the very definition of ignorant. Now please take your place right next to Michele Bachmann and John Kline. You three can claim to be the Holier Than Thou Trinity. Idiots!!
Comment posted November 4, 2011 @ 6:02 pm
John m.
The minute I get to vote on your marriage I’ll consider the possibility that you can vote on mine. My taxes are paying for rights you have that you are determined to deny me.
Comment posted November 6, 2011 @ 3:30 am
John M is a hateful bigot and him and his ilk are losing the “culture war” that they themselves started. When they have lost completely, and that is inevitable, he will be a pissed-off hateful bigot – since being pissed-off and full of hate is very unpleasant for the individuals involved as well as those around them, his fate can be regarded as a punishment from God for his arrogance. Repent bigot!
Comment posted November 13, 2011 @ 7:20 am
Regrettably, self-described conservative thinkers (of which I am devoutly one) with a political agenda have gone far beyond the text of DOMA for personal and party gain and falsely accuse the Department of Defense (DoD) of violating the law, thereby putting politics above the law, and drawing DoD into a social debate wholly unrelated to military activity; in fact, DoD has adhered to a strict, conservative, plain reading of DOMA, which states succinctly, “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” Dr. Stanley’s 30 Sep 11 is silent as to “marriage”, gay or straight. It reads, “A military chaplain may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law. Further, a chaplain is not required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would be in variance with the tenants of his or her religious or personal beliefs. Finally, a military chaplain’s participation in a private ceremony does not constitute an endorsement of the ceremony by DoD.” Dr. Stanley’s policy allows chaplains to do, or not do, what has been the case for years: officiate at personal religious ceremonies, like the chaplain who precided over the non-military, private wedding ceremony between my wife and I. These “conservative” politicians and their same-sex marriage ban (in the draft NDAA in committee), would obviate the First Amendment, and ignore the plain admonishment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. I think DOMA to be legitimate federal action to define the scope of federal entitelments; however, the proposed same-sex marriage ban for chaplains would prohibit the free-exercise of a chaplain’s religious freedom; and, it assails DoD for complying with the plain meaning of DOMA. It is the right-wing politicians with the agenda to pull DoD into this greater-societal debate under the false guise that the Armed Forces are breaking the law. It would be wise to remember John Marshall’s obsevation in 1803 that we are a nation of laws, not of men.
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