18 Jun 1997 Sex Parties in the Barracks Okay, Says Congressman
Press Release
Family Research Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 18, 1997
CONTACT: Kristin Hansen (202) 393-2100
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Yesterday, openly gay Congressman Barney Frank offered a Defense bill that declares that the Pentagon’s prevailing moral views are wrong. If passed, the legislation would do away with the military’s adultery law, eliminate all legal obstacles to adult consensual sex and make homosexual behavior legal.
“What Frank couldn’t get during the 1993 gay debate he now wants to get behind the smokescreen of military sex scandals,” says FRC’s retired Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis, the director for the Military Readiness Project. “Frank calls this the ‘Anti-Hypocrisy Act,’ but he’s the one being hypocritical. It’s obvious where Frank wants this bill to go. He wants homosexuals to be able to openly serve and engage in now-illicit sex.
“Frank’s bill was predictable,” says Maginnis. “Last week, leading homosexual activists were welcomed at the Pentagon by Clinton appointee Fred Pang, Assistant Secretary of Defense. No doubt, the high-level meeting dealt with advancing the homosexual agenda and Frank’s bill is part of their strategy.
“Frank’s law would severely limit commanders from halting sex parties in the barracks. As long as soldiers are consenting, anything goes. This would make Tailhook normative,” said Maginnis.
The proposal would legalize most sexual behaviors including adultery. But adultery can have serious negative effects on morale, discipline and unit cohesion. Current law seeks to vaccinate fragile military families against broken commitments, domestic violence, and long-term problems for children. Most military people are married, a fact that has been proven to be key to readiness. That’s why 858 soldiers have recently been court-martialed for adultery. The law’s crystal clarity keeps wandering eyes focused on the mission.
The colonel said, “A military without constraints on sexual conduct is doomed to failure. Mr. Frank’s bill turns military law on its head. It denies commanders the discretion to fit the punishment to the crime, but in many instances consensual sexual relationships have been shown to seriously damage readiness.
“We must be careful,” says Maginnis. “What we get in our military is what we ask for. Do we really want a fighting force marked by free sex and shredded discipline? No!”