General James Amos, who's been opposed to repealing the military's gay ban has spoken out again. In discussing repeal, he said, "I don’t want to lose any Marines to the distraction. I don’t want to have any Marines that I’m visiting at Bethesda [National Naval Medical Center, in Maryland] with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."
He went on to say that he reached this conclusion after a thorough and "unbiased" review of the study. So now we have the top Marine chief in the United States military saying that gay people will lead to deaths and loss of arms and legs of fellow Marines.
He spouted the usual talking points we've heard from the right over the years. Unit cohesion, battle effectiveness, showering, et cetera, as further reasons why he thinks we just can't end the Revolutionary War-era gay ban here in 2010. And then, someone did something right. They asked him to elaborate on these talking points:
When pressed to explain exactly what a breakdown of "unit cohesion" could look like and why it would endanger Marines in combat, or the larger war effort, Amos said he was unsure but that the significant concern of breakdown was good enough for him.
He's completely unaware of evidence to back up his long list of horrible effects that gays will have on the military. Is anyone really surprised anymore? These people hate having to answer questions and they hate being exposed. They remember the good old days when the burden of proof was on gay people to prove that we're not perverts and child molesters. These people don't know how to reassess things in light of changes like this, and in light of advancements in the discussion of marriage, as in the Prop. 8 trial. That's why the proponents' case was so terrible. They simply don't think they should be the people who have to prove themselves. Well, that time is over.
When the top Marine leader says outright that gay people will lead to armless and legless troops and even death, but he just doesn't know and can't explain how this is going to happen, his credibility is gone.
When people like the proponents of Prop. 8 have to explain how gays harm heterosexuals' ability to marry, things like this happen:
"What is the harm to the procreation purpose you outlined of allowing same-sex couples to get married?" Walker asked.
"My answer is, I don't know. I don't know," Cooper answered.
There is nothing behind their claims.
UPDATE: SLDN responds:
"General Amos needs to fall in line and salute or resign now. He implied that repeal will lead to Marines losing their legs in combat. Those fear tactics are not in the interest of any service member. The General’s goal is to kill repeal no matter the consequences, perhaps at the dereliction of his other duties. He had his say before the Senate and House. General Amos needs to stop lobbying against his Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. If he cannot do that, the President should ask for his resignation," said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.
AmericaBlog has more from The Advocate and Robert Gibbs.
UPDATE again: Capehart delivers a takedown of Amos. It's beautiful.