Eagle Forum Opposes the Military Readiness Enhancement Act

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eagle Forum, a leading pro-family organization founded by Phyllis Schlafly, urges Members of Congress and other Americans who support the U.S. military to defend current law which holds that homosexuals are ineligible to serve in the U.S. armed forces.  During his first official State of the Union Address to the nation last night, President Obama called for Congress to repeal this law, but Eagle Forum opposes any efforts to change or repeal it.  

"Last night, President Obama made the same faulty argument in favor of gays in the military that the homosexual activists make for gay marriage.  He claimed that it is a civil rights issue," said Eagle Forum president and founder Phyllis Schlafly.  "He is mistaken.  There is no constitutional right to serve in the armed forces."  

"I was shocked to read a November report from the U.S. Army that 75 percent of America's 17- to 24-year-olds are not eligible for military service, largely because they are poorly educated, involved in crime, or are physically unfit. According to this report titled 'Ready, Willing and Unable to Serve,' 27 percent of young Americans can't join the military because they are too fat, out of shape, can't do push-ups or pull-ups, and can't run," said Schlafly.  "Are the civil rights of the old, the uneducated, and the obese being violated? Of course not!"  

"Obama also promised to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' over a year ago during his presidential campaign, and that, too, was misleading because it implied that DADT was current law," stated Schlafly.

The current law, known as Section 654, Title 10 of the U.S. Code, or "The Military Personnel Eligibility Act of 1993," was passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993.  This law is commonly confused with Clinton's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which is no more than a Pentagon regulation instituted via Executive Order.  

Legislation is currently pending in the House which would repeal the 1993 law and replace it with a "LGBT law" for the military.  H.R. 1283, or The Military Readiness Enhancement Act, would impose the gay agenda upon our military men and women with language that would recognize "homosexuality or bisexuality, whether the orientation is real or perceived."  Although the bill has a whopping 187 cosponsors, the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), has publicly stated that he supports current law.

"The primary purpose of the armed forces is to prevail in combat, not to engage in leftist social engineering," concluded Schlafly.  "The left will not be satisfied until they have exacted their sexual agenda not only on Americans in civilian life through gay marriage, hate crimes legislation, and biased employer mandates, but on Americans in military life as well.  We simply cannot allow the 1993 law to be repealed."

CONTACT:  Phyllis Schlafly, President, (314) 721-1213

SOURCE Eagle Forum