Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) must be breathing a sigh of relief.
The Republican-dominated House Rules Committee on Tuesday removed a defense bill provision introduced by Hunter that would have required women to sign up for the draft, The Associated Press reported.
Hunter is vehemently opposed to the idea of women in combat and didn’t actually vote for his own “gotcha” amendment.
“I have the utmost respect and deepest appreciation for the young women who bravely volunteer to serve our country, but I am adamantly opposed to coercing America’s daughters to sign up for the Selective Service at 18 years of age,” Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), the committee’s chairman, said in a statement, as quoted by the AP.
Hunter said when he introduced the amendment last month that he did so “regretfully,” and the move may have been intended to force the women in combat issue among other lawmakers. But the tactic backfired, as Democrats jumped on the opportunity to vote on the amendment in a step toward gender equality. The amendment passed by a vote of 32-30 in the House Armed Services Committee.
The Senate Armed Services Committee is working on its own draft legislation for women. If it were to pass the full Senate, the issue would have to be debated in a House-Senate conference committee.
I’ve heard that they have women in the military now./s
It makes entire sense for women to sign up for the draft.\
And if we actually had the draft, I doubt that we ever would have gone into Iraq, as some of our Senators and Reps would have been hearing a lot more skepticism from their constituents.
“I have the utmost respect and deepest appreciation for the young women
who bravely volunteer to serve our country, but I am adamantly opposed
to coercing America’s daughters to sign up for the Selective Service at
18 years of age,”
Coercing America’s daughters. You’re good with coercing America’s sons though? And I just love the backhanded, “I have the utmost respect and deepest appreciation for the young women who bravely volunteer to serve our country.” You have so much respect for them that they should be treated as lesser to men.
It has been so long since the GOP actually legislated (as opposed to using bills drafted by ALEC or lobbyists) that they don’t know how to do it anymore.
Duncan Hines, Jr. must have peed his pants when he introduced the amendment, trying to humiliate democrats, only to discover they thought it was a pretty fair idea and voted for it in droves. At the end, he was sweating bullets trying to show everyone that the democrats were just as cynical as HE is.
Are you trying to tell me that “legislating” doesn’t mean the same thing as introducing bills written by ALEC or lobbyists?