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The certification process for final Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell repeal — the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, along with the President, must certify to Congress that the United States military is trained and ready for open service — was always subject to tinkering by subsequent Congresses. Duncan Hunter, R-CA52, has obliged — with more sand in the gears. He will introduce an amendment that will require additional military leaders’ certifications before open service is permitted.
During consideration of the national defense authorization act this week by the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Duncan Hunter 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.
Hunter’s delaying tactic is based on a false premise: that the current certification program called for in law “excludes the service chiefs:”
“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….”
In response to Congressman Hunter’s proposal to add another layer of Pentagon bureaucracy to the already-glacial pace of DADT repeal, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis released this statement:
“Make no mistake. The expected Duncan Hunter amendment is designed to slow down repeal. It serves no constructive purpose, as the service chiefs themselves recently testified they are already very much a part of the certification process with Chairman Mullen and Secretary Gates and see no need for the amendment Mr. Duncan is offering.
“Put quite simply, it’s time for these opponents of repeal to move on. The Congress, the President, our nation’s senior military leaders, and the American people have spoken on this issue.”
Does your Congressperson sit on the House Armed Services Committee? Please click through for contact information to let your representative know that you see no need for additional steps added into the certification process. DADT repeal is going well, albeit slowly. The service chiefs have testified they are well involved in the certification for DADT repeal. Congress needs to stand out of the way of the legal process.
Let’s not make it any more complicated for our brave men and women serving their country in silence.
40 Comments
PSA: Duncan Hunter is up for reelection in 2012.
I had no idea Hunter was so young. Every position of his I’ve ever read about led me to the belief he was some old guy still living in the first part of the last century.
What an idiot he is.
Not sure if my rep sits on the committee, but since it’s Lamar Smith, and he has never listened to anything I said on any issue, there’s no point finding out, sadly.
To be entirely clear, I support DADT repeal because of Equality, in all ways, period.
In this sense.
But no more wars for me. None. At all.
Would that Duncan Hunter accidently wander into Sacramento’s Face’s Nightclub on a Thursday Night . . . and be recognized.
*G*
Aloha, Teddy…! I’ll give Colleen Hanabusa an earful…! ;-)
Sorry Teddy., I can’t believe it’s taken this long
I concur with that statement. I’m for equality but against war.
Well thanks to Kelly’s handy tool, it was easy to find out that my congresscritter does not sit on the armed services committee. I didn’t think so but now it’s confirmed.
Duncan Hunter is the second person of that name to serve, the son of the previous incumbent, who held the seat for many years. An Iraq war vet, he holds views even more odious than those of his dad, who was in the third tier of 2008 GOP presidential aspirants.
Gobsmacked I am, to find Kelly’s handy tool used this way!
and @ Teddy
WEEEEE! SOMEBODY USED IT!
LOL! I’ll quit shrieking now.
Wonderful!
One more pimp action for the tool, here, http://jamesandeverett.com/CitizenWhip/CitizenWhip-Resources.html is that Hunter’s top donors are:
Top 5 Contributors, 2009-2010, Campaign Cmte
Contributor Total Indivs PACs
General Dynamics $15,600 $5,600 $10,000
Cubic Corp $10,900 $3,400 $7,500
BAE Systems $10,600 $600 $10,000
Cobham PLC $10,225 $0 $10,225
AT&T Inc $10,000 $0 $10,000
and:
Top 5 Industries, 2009-2010, Campaign Cmte
Industry Total Indivs PACs
Defense Electronics $54,750 $12,250 $42,500
Defense Aerospace $47,100 $600 $46,500
Health Professionals $43,615 $9,115 $34,500
Misc Defense $31,000 $2,500 $28,500
Leadership PACs $28,320 $0 $28,320
Yep – Defense Industry.
Of course I used it. It’s handier than a pocket in a shirt. :)
*heh* Ya promise…? ;-)
The handy tool to which I referred.
[begin shriek] No! [end shriek]
OT– One more click to do a good turn. Sign the petition: 48 hours to stop Uganda’s anti-gay bill!
Maybe it wouldn’t be entirely accidental. Maybe he’s got a wide stance. That seems to be a very common condition among conservative homophobes.
*sigh* I thought naught…! ;-)
Hunter’s tactic is based on another false premise—false in the sense that it is unsubstantiated by evidence, false in that it is an unquestioned article of faith, false in that is contains an essential religious and cultural bias. It is the assumption that “combat readiness” is dependent upon a strict adherence to hyper-masculine, heterosexual gender norms for members of the military. It is a prejudice that insists that military effectiveness is primarily a function of identity (the idea that what any soldier really fights for is the person next to them in the foxhole against the alien “other”). But this perspective also insists that that identity has a fundamental sexual component, the arbitrary masculine boundaries of which must be policed in order for that identity to be maintained. The conclusion folks like Hunter arrive at, then, is that the efficacy of US forces decreases as its precious bodily fluids (i.e. identity) are sapped through the infiltration of anything they assume to be in opposition to all that is strong, male and heterosexual. Where is the proof of this supposed cause and effect relationship, Hunter?
OT. Am I just late to the party or something? All of a sudden, each comment has a “Flag this comment as inappropriate” link at the bottom. Was this part of the big tech maintenance yesterday? However we are still burdened with nested comments. WTF??
AARRGGHH.
Ohhhhh. Dumb me. Well, it’s hard to keep up with so many RW idjits.
An thoughtful and relevant article: “Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity” by Michael Kimmel.
http://genedseminars.umb.edu/engl186/fall06/documents/Kimmel_Homophobia.pdf
*heh* Join the Club…! ;-)
Duncan finds his proof at the bathhouse, no doubt.
You are not dumb.
The idea was a very clever one: build name recognition while the dad ran for the presidency, and slide the son with the same name into the Congressional seat during the same election. I doubt half the new Congressman’s constituents even know it’s happened.
Yes, agreed. If I wasn’t such a C-Span weenie, I might not have noticed.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) is a Marine Corps veteran of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and opponent of gays in the military. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos has expressed opposition to passing DADT repeal legislation.
Regarding the Marine’s feelings about gays in the military, anybody heard of Pfc Bradley Manning?
Teddy, that’s your cue.
To clarify, a vote by General Amos wouldn’t slow down the process of DADT repeal, it would stop it.
Mr. Heinrich(NM) should be getting my email any second now. I didn’t even use any profanity this time.
BAE Systems PLC (London, UK) has been plagued by so many questionable dealings that the Guardian.Uk.Co has put together BAE Files.
Cobham PLC (Dorset, UK) is the “world’s largest maker of airborne-refueling equipment” and recently closed locations (see “Cobham to Eliminate Jobs, Shut Nine Sites in U.S., U.K., France,” Bloomberg.Com, Jan. 13, 2011). Of recent note is “U.K.-based Cobham acquires Baltimore-based Corp Ten International” and its 14 surveillance specialists (WashingtonTechnolgy.Com, Feb. 9, 2011):
{ snip }
“Like”!
The turd doesn’t fall far from the asshole does it?
My wife and I helped a gay couple to move. The situation put me in a position where I had to sleep with one partner in one location and my wife in another. We are really good at packing moving vans. I was never worried or scared and neither was my wife. It was like 2 couples who were in love and helping each other out.
DADT is just another excuse to alienate another segment of the population. Isn’t this against the constitution?
Sounds like you were a good friend or neighbor.
Isn’t that what America is all about?
If DADT slowed down any more…well, you get the picture.
Wow! More than 1 MILLION international signers in 24 hours to “Stop Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill!” Thank you to all who signed and got the word out.
4 important points:
1. PFC Bradley Manning is a member of the U.S. Army, not Marines.
2. One year ago, 23% of Marines threatened to resign if DADT got repealed. Today, that number is zero.
3. All DADT repeal training classes have been successful, with no problems occurring, and no issues unresolved, and no resignations. Retention and recruiting rates in all branches are meeting goals 100%.
4. All 4 service chiefs testified to Congress last month that implementation of DADT Repeal has gone smoothly.