Del. Bob Marshall's Anti-Gay National Guard Bill Undermined by Kookinelli

The virulently anti-gay Del Bob Marshall (R-Loundoun County) never misses any opportunity to denigrate LGBT Virginians and consistently does all in his power to keep the LGBT community in a 3rd or 4th class citizens status. The most recent effort of "Side Show Bob" (as in a carnival freak show) was to introduce a bill that would retain the application of DADT to the Virginia National Guard. Now, Marshall has had his anti-gay jihad undermined by the most unlikely source - Virginia's lunatic Attorney General Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli. Kookinelli has burst Marshall's balloon via an attorney general's opinion which concludes that for Virginia to follow Marshall's proposal it would have to 100% self-fund the state's National Guard. Given that virtually all of the current funding for the Guard comes from the federal government, the price tag of Marshall's anti-gay bigotry would be very high and would likely enrage voters if taxes had to be increased to further the anti-gay agenda of Marshall and his puppeteers at The Family Foundation. One can only hope that members of the Virginia GOP who typically love to bash gays will now run from Marshall's bill because the huge financial ramifications it would ignite if enacted. Here are some highlights from the Richmond Times Dispatch:
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The Virginia National Guard could exclude gays from service once federal regulations repealing the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy are issued, but the federal government would have the ability to condition its funding of the state guards on compliance with the new rules, according to an opinion issued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
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The opinion released today came in response to a request by Del. William R. Janis, R-Henrico, and on the heels of legislation submitted by Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William that would keep in force the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," policy in the Virginia National Guard.
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[T]he attorney general said that while the states have the power to appoint officers to the state militias, including the modern national Guard, the power to determine which Guard officers are eligible for service in the overlapping National guard of the United States rests with the U.S. Congress.
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Further, Cuccinelli said that Congress, through its spending power, "can condition the use of federal funds on a State's acceptance of DADT. "Should the General Assembly wish to avoid the conditions attached to these funds, it can raise, equip, and fund an independent Virginia militia entirely from state revenues," the opinion concludes.
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That prospect is unlikely, say officials, given the fact that the overwhelming majority of funding for state Guards is provided by the federal government.