Chambliss: Repealing DADT Would Open Door To ‘Adultery’ And ‘Body Art’ In The Military

Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

At the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today on the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) expressed his concern that repealing the rule would pave the way for allowing “alcohol use, adultery, fraternization, and body art” in the military — and that the army must “exclude persons whose presence in the armed forces would create unacceptable risk to the armed forces’ high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion.”

Chambliss acknowledged that while the military enforces “restrictions on personal behavior that would not be acceptable in civilian society,” it “must maintain policies that exclude persons whose presence in the armed forces would create unacceptable risk to the armed forces’ high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion.”

“In my opinion,” he said, “the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would very likely create an unacceptable risk to those high standards.”

Why, if gays are allowed into the military, Chambliss said, soon the armed forces will allow all sorts of other things.

Like what?

“Alcohol use, adultery, fraternization, and body art,” said Chambliss.

“If we change this rule of ‘Don’t Ask, Dont Tell,” he asked, “what are we going to do with these other rules?”

Latest News
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: