NEWS FLASH

Rep. Buck McKeon: No Defense Bill Unless It Bans Same-Sex Marriages By Military Chaplains | Following the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, the Department of Defense recently announced that it would allow same-sex marriages to be performed on military bases by military chaplains (who could but would not be required to perform them).  Today, however, Politico reports that Rep. Buck McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he would refuse to pass a Defense Authorization Bill without a ban on such marriages:

McKeon said Friday he’d rather see Congress fail to pass a defense authorization bill for the first time in half a century than give ground on contentious provisions that seek to direct suspected terrorists into military custody and to ban gay marriages by military chaplains…Asked whether his convictions on both issues are so strong that he would rather not have a defense authorization bill than strip out the gay-marriage and detainee language, McKeon replied firmly on each point, “Yes.”