National Defense Authorization Act: Provision Repeals Military Ban On Sodomy

WASHINGTON — Recently passed Senate legislation would make sodomy and sex with animals legal under military law, ending long-standing prohibitions and triggering cries of perversion from conservative groups.

The bill, which the Senate passed 93-7 last week, would repeal Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that states any person who engages in "unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy." Those found guilty of sodomy would be subject to court martial.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Thursday that the repeal was simply a legal change because it's no longer constitutional. A 2003 Supreme Court decision struck down a Texas ban on sodomy as an unconstitutional intrusion on privacy.

The committee said the changes in law were recommended by the Joint Services Committee on Military Justice and the secretary of defense.

Senate negotiators are working to reconcile their version of the bill with the House-passed measure and produce final legislation that sets policy for the Pentagon. House Republicans oppose the repeal and want to leave the provision intact.

A congressional aide close to the negotiations said late Thursday that it was unlikely the repeal would stand. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

Conservative groups angered by the end this year to the ban on gays serving openly in the military were outraged by the proposed repeal of the sodomy provision.

"Now, in its rush to accommodate the left, Congress may have inadvertently opened the door to even more perversion," Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said in a statement. "As part of the defense authorization bill, liberals are pushing to make sodomy a legal activity under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In its haste to make gay sex an official part of military life, the left could be unintentionally repealing the ban on bestiality too."

In an interview, Perkins said he has been talking to House lawmakers involved in the defense negotiations as they push to leave the provision intact, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif.

"This blowup over bestiality shows the sloppy nature of this repeal," Perkins said.

Comments

[Leonor Arango]

11:48 PM on 12/26/2011

think I lost my mind really,,, what is this National Defense Authorization Act: Provision Repeals Military Ban On Sodomy

I feel first the is a gross crime against the Consitution and American Citizens, I had no clue this was part of the act, Do realize FBI head Mullen on C-Span tried to ask well, what do I do with American. No answer and they were mad at him. He was not happy, I feel this is no longer a Country I can trust nor understand.
Just so happens our President left for vacation with out signing the Bill and if in 10 days it is not sihned it goes into effect. WELCOME FOR ETERNITY TO CLUB GUANTANAMO..

[purplewg]

08:28 AM on 12/14/2011

I for one think this part of Article 125 should remain, " any person who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same sex".

[Pooter1]

06:14 PM on 12/10/2011

Currently two articles are on HuffPost about two seperate provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Article #1 is titled 'National Defense Authorization Act: Provision Repeals Military Ban On Sodomy' is in the Politics section and is about the provision that removes the ban on sodomy in the military and currently has generated 668 comments.

Article #2 is title 'Jon Stewart Blasts Senate Defense Bill That Would Allow Americans To Be Detained Indefinitely' in the Comdedy section is about how Jon Stewart is furious that the Senate passed 97-3 a bill that would allow the military to indefinitely detain US citizens not charged with a crime and deny them due process and it currently has generated 470 comments.

I'm not sure which is left me stunned the most. Is it....

1)..that there are 200 more post, people have more to say about of the repeal of the military ban on sodomy provision in the NDAA than they do about the stripping of a constitutional right that will allow the gov the throw folks in jail iindefinitely with no charges or due process, or...

2) that HuffPost will post a story about a comedian being pissed off that 93% of the Senate just passed a bill stripping Americans of a basic constitutional right instead of an actual news article about the fact that the Senate passed 93-7 a bill that will strip Americans of a constitutional right.

How sad.

[KYnyts]

07:46 PM on 12/10/2011

If you are a regular reader of @HuffPost, you may have seen numerous articles regarding "the fact that the Senate passed 93-7 a bill that will strip Americans of a constituti­onal right." Not defending HuffPost (the don't need it), but just try to find mention of it in the mainstream media. If mentioned at all, it was a passing blurb. Unbelievable.

[Pooter1]

11:32 PM on 12/11/2011

That's true KYnyts and thanks for pointing that out. I should have made myself more clear on that as I have acutally posted on a couple of op-ed pieces posted on HuffPost about NDAA. And you even if just op-ed pieces, at least its something because you are so right about not finding anything about it the MSM.

And then today, Graham is on Meet the Press, dressed in fatgues (WTF), uses the word 'stalinist' to describe a gov agency, and Gregory ask Graham about everything but the NDAA, not a single question about it, even after Graham's comments on the Senate floor last week emphatically stating the indefinite detainment provision DOES apply to Americans living on American soil. UNFRIGGIN BELIEVEABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BillyV123]

04:43 PM on 12/09/2011

For God's sake, don't let Rick Sanatarium get wind of this...He's swear to God the step step really IS a marriage between a PFC and The Eiffel Tower.

[OBroadhurst]

01:48 PM on 12/09/2011

Ummm... No. Removing this language does NOT in fact legalize sex with animals in the military. Please correct, or retract, the story.

[truth be told again]

10:53 PM on 12/13/2011

Um, THIS says differently"

"The bill, which the Senate passed 93-7 last week, would repeal Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that states any person who engages in "unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy." Those found guilty of sodomy would be subject to court martial."

If they remove the language, they're taking it out of the UCMJ so those behaviors are no longer illegal to do. Certainly "not subject to court martial.

Meanwhile, I don't understand why no one in the US military cannot remove ONLY the "with another person of the same or opposite sex or" verbage and then there wouldn't even BE any trumped up (imo) outrage, confusion or controversy.

[MichaelbJenkins]

11:39 AM on 12/09/2011

Common sense should dictate that sodomy with animals should count as animal abuse, and not "unnatural copulation", and that their should be a whole separate law for that. Aparently animal abuse laws don't apply to our military though, which is apalling.

On the bright side, I think it's great that they're repealing the ban for the sake of gays in the military. Just make a separate revision to protect animals. It seems pretty simple to me.

[masterinventor001embarq]

11:35 AM on 12/09/2011

There are few in disagreement on the need to punish terrorists but brutalizing the cival rights of all citizens this apauling. The rights of the accused are silenced by this legislation without reason. There is presently no overflow in the court system case load that might justify the temporary suspension. They want to allow the overwhelming credible evidence in a few cases to cancel the cival rights to trial of the ones being railroaded for alterior motives. Hate crimes ,fraud criminals wanting extortion intimidations, presidents wanting to eliminate or intimidate oponents, Fbi under pressure to solve terror related crimes are just a few examples of how this legislation can be used alteriorly to produce gross injustice to anyone in these situations that could be any of us.

[masterinventor001embarq]

02:32 PM on 12/09/2011

They may feel they need this to stop terror consperitors from the nations under occupation. The only cival rights preserving method would involve a sufficiency of evidence trial rating 1 through 4 one being large scale whitnesses with concrete physical evidence such as reid and four being railroaded evidence warrenting trial and dismissel like Mcveigh

[ThEbor]

11:27 AM on 12/09/2011

I hope the article is repealed. That sodomy and bestiality are linked is offensive. If some silly sailor figures out how to have sex with a seductive sheep on a ship, I'm sure they can sack him for some other sin.

That said, I bang my head on my desk, asking why, why, why you give stupid, well-funded right-wing nutjobs fuel for their fire. The senate could have just as easily stricken the sodomy part and let the beast part stand.

Hopefully, those 100 talented men and women can now get moving on something more important.

[jimme]

11:21 AM on 12/09/2011

How come everytime the subject of beastiality is brought up, it's someone from the Right who brings it up ?

Their Freudian slips are showing.

[glpede48]

11:06 AM on 12/09/2011

Sodomy with skunks = Gingrich

[lizipoo]

10:59 AM on 12/09/2011

OMG, this will give Santorum all the 'proof' he needs for his malignant stance against the LGBT community. Wonder if the hetero males who support his bizarre claims realize that sodomy laws include oral sex as well. Careful what you pray/prey for guys.

[donknottz]

10:51 AM on 12/09/2011

Now every one can do the, "What What in the Butt"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbGkxcY7YFU

Priceless

[Djay0252]

10:47 AM on 12/09/2011

Is the Congress going to do anything constructive? The country needs jobs. They should have but a ban on s(rew!ng the American public since that is exactly what they are doing.

[masterinventor001embarq]

04:52 PM on 12/09/2011

they just pased inovation retartive patent reform to stop new job formation now they want to sodomize our cival rights without trials and force medical insurance to shorten our lifespans by 40 years what there doing is everything wrong possible They can at least do one thing right by aproving legislation to impeach themselves before they do anymore damages

[l78lancer]

07:31 PM on 12/11/2011

Screwing the American citizen is what they do best.

[hegelian]

10:45 AM on 12/09/2011

ok this is a legal hell, on one hand sexuality is being litigated rather vaguely and on the other hand maybe something more sinister comes to mind such as the legal practice of sodomy for torture purposes. I would warn my liberal friends for taking the bait but not knowing the exact legal phrasing this is only speculation from the peanut gallery at the moment, in short keep your eyes peeled...

[Jamal Dash Burgess]

05:37 AM on 12/16/2011

That's exactly what I was thinking...

[marshhen]

10:38 AM on 12/09/2011

There will now be an increase in livestock orders from the military....