Ban on gay troops should be reinstated, Pawlenty says

[pgodbold]

"Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said this week he would support reinstating the military ban on openly gay and lesbian soldiers. Pawlenty is seen by some as a possible Republican presidential candidate."

Gay Politics.com: http://www.gaypolitics.com/2011/01/13/pawlenty-would-reinstate-ban-on-gay-troops/

[Drale]

1. and I would support a ban on people being open stupid in public office

we don't always get what we want Pawlenty.

[theHandpuppet]

9. +1

I'd back that ban for sure. Just think of all the wingnuts who would be out of office right now!

[Pab Sungenis]

2. This is one of the hazards of the way the "repeal" was undertaken.

If Obama AND Gates AND Mullen don't all certify that the time is right to lift the ban before January 20, 2013, then a Teahadist successor to Obama could stop everything dead in its tracks.

And even if they DO certify it and the law is finally off the books, nothing is stopping a future Teahadist President from issuing an Executive Order reinstating it since taking the law off the books essentially takes us back to where we were in 1993: nothing codified and everything set in Pentagon policy.

If Obama hadn't insisted on appealing the court decisions striking it down as Unconstitutional and just let the Courts end all this, then we wouldn't have to worry about people like Pawlenty.

[divine_truine]

3. The DADT tell law should've never seen the light of day...

...unfortunately it did. it is/was a slippery slope trying to get this damn 'law' repealed and obliterated. I have four letters to share with pawlenty: S.T.F.U.

He is a opportunistic,pandering political fool...and like mccain, he will say anything to win the pube nomination. go ahead a**hole! exhibit your xenophobia for the rest of the country to see! Like sarah c**tface, YOU WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT!

[TheWraith]

12. No, that's simply not true at all.

And frankly, you've had an increasing series of more and more unlikely and fact-twisting ideas to justify this claim that DADT isn't really repealed. It's getting kind of ridiculous.

Pre-1993, being gay was banned by military law, specifically article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. To reinstate that would require an act of Congress, since executive orders cannot change the UCMJ. That's not happening unless the Republicans get a substantial (~60 vote) majority in the Senate, and the White House, neither of which is going to happen.

Besides which, Gates has said publicly that they're going to have this settled within a few months. The idea that they're just going to stall for a year because they're secret homophobes and want to cancel all the work they did to repeal it is silly.

[Creideiki]

13. You must be a lawyer!

Of course, if you were a lawyer, you'd know about the Constitutional Check the Executive has on the Legislative--how or even whether to enforce laws. Remember all the griping in the gun community that we don't need more laws, we just need to enforce existing laws? The Legislative controls the checkbook. The Executive can say, "Thanks for the money--we'll save that."

How does that apply here? "Thanks for funding military justice. We're not spending any money on cases involving violations of sodomy between same-sex couples JUST LIKE WE DON'T AGAINST OPPOSITE-SEX COUPLES. Further, we're not going to spend any money kicking gay people out of the military."

It's easy, really.

[Kurovski]

4. What else would a Regressive like Pawlenty say?

He's pawlenty full of crapola.

[FiveGoodMen]

5. His clean-cut, boyish looks can fool people.

He was a terrible governor and he's a dangerous, worthless piece of shit.

Beware, America!

[demigoddess]

6. and he should take a flying leap off a short pier.

i hope

[davidinalameda]

7. nah

he might hurt some fish on the way down

[tomm2thumbs]

8. He also said McCain would be going up against Hillary in the election

He has missed the mark so many times, the donkey tails are on his own ass

[RetiredTrotskyite]

10. Pawlenty Can Take His Bible-Banging Nonsense...

and SHOVE IT!

[QC]

11. As far as I can tell, he never served. Another chickenhawk. n/t