In New Hampshire, Tackling Civil Unions & DA, DT
As same-sex couples in New Hampshire celebrate the recent passage of civil unions legislation there, questions are being raised about the impact of the bill on lesbian and gay military members.
From Foster's, in New Hampshire:
For some lawmakers and observers, the state Senate's Thursday passage of the civil unions bill signaled the beginning of legal and other challenges, including its effect on the New Hampshire National Guard.
"The bottom line is I believe that civil unions will endanger the military's 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," Wakefield Sen. Joseph Kenney, who joined nine other Republicans voting against measure, said in an interview after the vote.
Kenney, who served in Iraq with the Marines, said the military could learn of soldiers' civil unions through public town reports that list marriages, births and deaths, but added that someone who "values their military career" would not enter a union.
Military rules prohibit soldiers from being openly gay or lesbian, however, it will not ask for any sexual orientation. Soldiers found to be openly gay or lesbian could face expulsion, according to military policy.
Civil unions pose concerns from the perspective of "combat effectiveness, morale and unit cohesion," Kenney said.
Democrat Jim Splaine, an openly gay representative from Portsmouth, said Kenney's comments highlight the need for the military to overturn the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
"I'm amazed a state senator would use an argument like this," he said, noting "there's way too much paranoia around" the bill.
You can read the full debate in the New Hampshire press here, and learn the real story about civil unions & "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in the SLDN Survival Guide.
- Steve RallsLabels: in the news, new hampshire
-----04-27-07
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