As noted frequently on this blog, the Christofascists believe that the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion only applies to them. Worse yet, by extension, that means that they believe that they are entitled to force their religious views on all of society and that they can ride rough shod over the religious beliefs of others. And like the good political whore that they are, GOP members of Congress are only too eager to show the depths to which they will prostitute themselves to the Christofascists and work to undermine both the U.S. Constitution and religious denominations that hold pro-gay views of gay marriage. As MetroWeekly is reporting, the House GOP has again sought to ban same sex marriage ceremonies from military bases regardless of the beliefs of the denominations seeking to perform such ceremonies. As is always the case with the GOP, it is ALL about appeasing the Christofascists and hate merchants. Here are some article highlights:
A handful of Republicans on Capitol Hill are again attempting to write discrimination into U.S. military code with a bill introduced in the House of Representatives last week.
The "Military Religious Freedom Protection Act" introduced by Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) would amend military code in order to protect the "rights of conscience of members of the Armed Forces and chaplains." In the bill's attempt to protect those religious freedoms, same-sex weddings would be banned from taking place on any military installation.
[F]or advocates who fought the ban on out gay servicemembers, Huelskamp's bill is a desperate attempt to open the door to discrimination in the military.
"This is just more of the same from a dwindling number of folks on Capitol Hill who wish to cling to the discrimination of the past, rather than embrace the journey toward full equality and fairness that we have embarked upon as a nation," OutServe-SLDN spokesman Zeke Stokes told Metro Weekly. "This bill seeks to address a problem that doesn't exist."
In many ways, the bill resembles what was a final attempt by former Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) last year to include a similar "conscience clause" in the $633 billion Pentagon budget. Advocates believed the provision was an attempt to permit harassment as well as ban same-sex weddings from occurring on military bases, despite a Defense Department policy that already ensures no chaplain can be forced to perform a same-sex marriage.
"This proposal needs to be seen for what it is – a naked attempt to undermine DADT repeal and open service by green lighting discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual service members," ACLU Legislative Representative Ian Thompson said of Huelskamp's bill. "Given the acknowledged success of the transition to open service, including from the uniformed military leadership, this legislation could not be more ill-timed or ill-advised."
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who has tried to ban same-sex weddings on military bases before, is a co-sponsor of the bill, as are Republican Reps. Tim Walberg (Mich.), Vicky Hartzler (Mo.), Doug LaMalfa (Calif.), Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Louie Gohmert (Texas).
Given the anti-gay hysteria of the bill's sponsors, one cannot help but wonder how long it will be before one or more of them are caught having a "wide stance" in a restroom or being caught up in some highway restroom sting soliciting gay sex. The closet cases always protest the loudest.
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