House Defense Committee will vote on anti-gay amendments on Wed

There's nothing like receiving a flaming pile of bigoted horsesh*t like this in your inbox.

For Immediate Release: May 9, 2011

Hunter to Offer DADT Amendment to National Defense Authorization Act

Washington D.C. - During consideration of the national defense authorization act this week by the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) will offer an amendment to require that all four military service chiefs certify that implementation of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)" repeal won't impact combat readiness and effectiveness. The amendment mirrors legislation previously introduced by Hunter-H.R. 337, the Restore Military Readiness Act.

"The four military service chiefs are far more closely connected to the day-to-day realities facing each respective service branch than those who are currently required to sign off on the repeal-including the President," said Hunter, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "The President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs should all take part in the certification process, but excluding the service chiefs is a mistake. They may agree to move forward with the repeal or they may have other recommendations for implementation and timing. Either way, their unvarnished perspective is critical to this process-especially as it relates to preserving the military's high rate of effectiveness.

"I've said before that our priority should be winning in Afghanistan and focusing on the roadside bomb threat, the primary source of U.S. casualties. The repeal of DADT won't make our troops any safer or help achieve victory any faster. Even so, any movement toward implementation must be efficient and show respect for the culture and tradition unique to each service branch and the military as a whole."

Now that I've gotten that off of my chest, the Washington Blade's Chris Johnson reports on the other craptastic measure that will come up:

The Hunter amendment could be one among several amendments that could be introduced by opponents of gays in the military to disrupt the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal process. Informed sources said other measures could be an outright abrogation of the repeal measure that Congress passed and Obama signed last year as opposed to merely implementing a certification expansion.

...R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, said those who worked for legislative repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" plan to send a letter in opposition to the Hunter measure and similar amendments before the committee markup.

Despite efforts from advocates, if the Hunter amendment is supported in committee along party lines, the measure would likely pass because Republicans enjoy a majority on the panel by a margin of 35-27. After the defense authorization bill is reported to the House floor, a similar vote of approval could be expected on the House floor because Republican have control of the chamber. The bill could see a House floor vote as early as the week of May 23.

I hope Hunter won't be disappointed, but I have to remind him that The Rapture is scheduled for May 21, so he might as well chill out.