Pelosi: House Rules Are Made to Be Broken

by Tony Perkins, Washington Update: The military follows congressional orders. Unfortunately for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the House leadership does not. Earlier this year, the Pentagon refused a request by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to bring her lesbian partner on a military flight to Europe. Under House rules, only a legal spouse (or, in some instances, an adult child) is eligible to travel with members of Congress when space permits. Baldwin, who claims to have "married" Lauren Azar in 1998, insists on registering her girlfriend as a "spouse" on government forms even though her own home state doesn't recognize same-sex marriage. Secretary Gates insisted that he was following Congress's own protocol in blocking Azar from the transport, but that didn't prevent Pelosi from contacting his office and demanding that he make an exception. According to Pelosi, former Speaker Dennis Hastert authorized similar trips. His former aides, however, disagree, saying that in at least one instance Hastert wasn't informed that Azar was on a trip "until it had already begun." Gates too was unaware of any prior exceptions but said that he would honor Pelosi's request if she issued an official letter approving it. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell points to the irony of the Speaker wanting to waive her own rules to create gay-friendly exceptions. "This is not an issue of DOD regulations," Morrell says. "Secretary Gates honored a request from Speaker Pelosi but that's really as far as it goes. This should not be viewed as a precedent." Tell that to the Speaker of the House. Although the matter was temporarily resolved, the dispute is ongoing. There is more behind this than a seat on a military plane, this is about hijacking the meaning of marriage. It is clear that the Speaker's actions are in direct conflict with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)--a law that Congress passed and former President Bill Clinton signed. Call the Speaker's office at 225-0100 and ask her to respect the government's policy on marriage: Congressional Directory

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Tags: DOD, DOMA, House Speaker, lesbian, military, Nancy Pelosi, Robert Gates, Tony Perkins, Washington Update To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!