President Obama (White House photo) |
While President Obama and Congress seek to ram through an amendment to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy – with votes coming as soon as this week – several groups are blasting the president for forcing a "radical" homosexual agenda on the military during a time of war.
A vote adding the repeal amendment to the 2011 defense authorization bill is scheduled for May 27 in both the Senate and the House.
According to the Thomas More Law Center, senators are being deluged with phone calls and letters to force their vote to repeal the military's ban.
Lawmakers had been slow to proceed after Defense Secretary Robert Gates requested that they wait until the completion of a Pentagon study in December. In a strongly worded letter dated April 30, Gates wrote that the Defense Department must be given an opportunity to evaluate the possible impact of repealing the ban before Congress acts.
"Our military must be afforded the opportunity to inform us of their concerns, insights and suggestions if we are to carry out this change successfully," Gates wrote.
He added that repealing the policy before completion of the review "would send a very damaging message to our men and women in uniform that in essence, their views, concerns and perspectives do not matter on an issue with such a direct impact and consequence for them and their families."
But homosexual advocacy groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, stepped up the pressure following concerns that Democrats may lose seats in Congress during the November election.
Elaine Donnelly, former member of the Pentagon's Defense advisory Committee on Women in the Services, is president of the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization that specializes in military issues.
"This high-handed White House ploy fools no one," Donnelly said. "Any vote for a 'repeal deal' with 'delayed implementation' would be an irresponsible abnegation of Congress' authority, surrendering the military to the control of political appointees doing the president's bidding."
She warned that voting for the amendment would be the same as a vote for H.R.1283, or the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, legislation that would also repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. She said that legislation, spearheaded by Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., would impose a radical lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered agenda on the military, during a time of war.
Donnelly said moving forward with the repeal would defy advice from Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.
"The men and women of our military still have not been heard," she said. "Contrary to some well-spun misinformation, it is not true that 'top Pentagon brass' have advocated repeal of the 1993 law. Adm. Mike Mullen has expressed a personal opinion favoring repeal, but he is out of step with the other military service chiefs, who have gone on record expressing serious reservations about the consequences of repealing the 1993 law …"
The 1993 federal statute at issue, debated and adopted by Congress, states that open homosexuals are not eligible to serve in the military. The law was overwhelming passed by bipartisan, veto-proof majorities in both houses, after extensive hearings and debate.
Noting reports that the White House has already cut a "repeal deal" for homosexuals in the military, Donnelly said, "Our brave men and women should not have to pay the price just so President Obama can deliver on his campaign promises to 'LGBT Left' groups. It is even more absurd to suggest that President Obama and compliant Pentagon officials can simply sign a paper assuring that the LGBT Law would not have a 'negative impact' on our military."
As WND reported, Richard Thompson, chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, previously warned that the Obama administration has been working on enabling homosexuals to live their lifestyle openly as members of the U.S. military by Memorial Day.
"The purpose of our military is to prepare for and prevail in combat," Thompson said today. "The Supreme Court has long recognized the difference between military and civilian life, and has given great deference to the requirements of our military. There is no constitutional right to serve in our armed forces, and homosexual groups should not be allowed to foist their political and social agendas at the expense of national security, and the destruction of unit cohesion, which is so essential to the combat effectiveness of our armed forces."
Thompson explained earlier that Obama has been "supported by a multi-million dollar campaign by national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender advocacy groups" and would alter the policy soon.
He warned, "Once the law is repealed, LGBT operatives will infiltrate the military, and backed by a brigade of ACLU lawyers, will push the homosexual agenda to the point of paralyzing the primary purpose of the military – winning wars. Because of 'zero tolerance' for anyone who disagrees with the repeal, thousands of current military personnel, especially those in the mid-career ranks, will leave."
Now as advocacy groups that supported Obama in 2008 demand payback, more than 1,150 distinguished retired flag and general officers, including 51 four-star generals and admirals, are urging retention of the ban.
Thomas More said the officers cited the impact on "morale, discipline, unit cohesion and overall readiness."
In February, Army and Air Force chiefs of staff testified before Congress, warning that a move to repeal the policy would be ill-timed..
"I do have serious concerns about the impact of repeal of the law on a force that's fully engaged in two wars and has been for eight-and-a-half years," Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We just don't know the impacts on readiness and military effectiveness."
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told Congress: "This is not the time to perturb the force that is, at the moment, stretched by demands in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere without careful deliberation."
Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., the third-ranking House Republican, promised unified GOP opposition to lifting the ban, the Associated Press reported.
"The American people don't want the American military to be used to advance a liberal political agenda. And House Republicans will stand on that principle," Pence said, urging Democrats to hold off until the Pentagon completes a review of its impact on the armed forces.
If passed, the repeal is expected to take effect after the Pentagon assessment is released.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins issued a statement calling the agreement "a back-room deal that disregards the views of our troops and uses the military to advance the political agenda of a radical special interest group."
"This rushed deal is a tacit admission that after the November election, the Democrats are likely to lose a working liberal majority," he said. "They want to get what they can now, and also far enough away from the election that it won't be prominent in the mind of voters."
Perkins added, "President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Levin know that the American people oppose forcing the military to embrace homosexuality just to pay off political supporters. We call on Congress to protect the military, listen to our troops and the American people by rejecting this outrageous deal that politicizes the military at the expense of our national security."