Last night, the House passed an amendment to repeal DADT on the annual Pentagon policy bill.

The House voted Thursday to let the Defense Department repeal the ban on gay and bisexual people from serving openly in the military, a major step toward dismantling the 1993 law widely known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The provision would allow military commanders to repeal the ban. The repeal would permit gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.

It was adopted as an amendment to the annual Pentagon policy bill, which the House is expected to vote on Friday. The repeal would be allowed 60 days after a Pentagon report is completed on the ramifications of allowing openly gay service members, and military leaders certify that it would not be disruptive. The report is due by Dec. 1.

The House vote was 234 to 194, with 229 Democrats and 5 Republicans in favor, after an emotionally charged debate. Opposed were 168 Republicans and 26 Democrats.

Supporters of the repeal hailed it as a matter of basic fairness and civil rights, while opponents charged that Democrats and President Obama were destabilizing the military to advance a liberal social agenda.

… Like the House amendment, the Senate measure, which is expected to come up for a vote soon, would allow Pentagon leaders to revoke the ban 60 days after the military study group completes its report and President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, certify that it would not hamper military readiness and effectiveness or “unit cohesion.”

… [c]hiefs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have objected. In letters solicited by Senator John McCain of Arizona, the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, they urged Congress to delay voting on the issue until after the Defense Department completed its report.

… Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, the No. 3 Republican in the House, accused Democrats of trying to use the military “to advance a liberal social agenda” and demanded that Congress “put its priorities in order.”

Other Republicans said the military was a unique institution and its rules sometimes had to differ from civilian society.

“We are dissing the troops, that is what we are doing,” said Representative Howard P. McKeon of California, senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee.

Republicans also questioned if the military leaders who would make the final decision would be able to resist pressure from the White House to lift the ban.

I do not have a problem with gays and lesbians serving in the military. I don’t even have a problem with them serving openly. However, the difference is that I am a civilian. The military operates completely differently than the civilian world does, and it should. Most servicemembers I know are against repealing DADT, and that’s enough for me. I don’t think I’m arrogant enough to tell the military what to do, unlike these liberal politicians.

What bothers me is that Democrats are already assuming that this is done and passed. It seems obvious that the Department of Defense is going to be pressured to bring back a report supporting the repeal, and this vote just makes it worse. Gay rights activists have already been assured that the repeal will work out. This is a social experiment, and the military is not a little liberal social experiment pet project. This isn’t about making our military stronger or better, this is about a liberal gay rights agenda. And that is wrong.

Ben Smith noticed the same thing.

It’s worth pausing to note the degree to which military service has replaced marriage as the public focus of the gay rights movement, and what a canny strategic posture that has been. Gays and lesbians have now spent months demanding something that’s less a right than a burden or a duty — demanding to be able to service and, potentially, die for the country. It’s a fundamentally patriotic stance, and it will offer a moral high ground to the movement for equal treatment for same-sex couples on questions like immigration and marriage.

How convenient, huh?

Gay men and women already serve honorably in the military as is. This debate has been rephrased to make it sound like this is some kind of civil rights issue, when it really isn’t. If a lesbian wants to become a Marine, she can. DADT allows the military to remain neutral on gay rights. That’s a good thing.

See, liberals never like to think long-term. It’s like universal health care. They think, “Gee, everyone should have health care!” and so blindly rush to pass universal health care without ever stopping to think about the long term repercussions. It’s the same with DADT. The military will now be forced to approve of gay rights whether they like it or not. Gay couples can now go to the commissary and hold hands and kiss in public. It doesn’t bother me, but what about some other military wife who is there shopping with her children? What if she doesn’t want her kids to see two gay guys making out? It isn’t always like the civilian world where you can just choose to go elsewhere. You might be stationed somewhere that shopping elsewhere isn’t an option. What if its in the DEERS office? What happens when some kind of flaming drag queen joins the military? Most Marines I know don’t mind serving with gay men, but a drag queen who cross dresses in their off time might be a little different. Someone could be understandably offended by this, but they are forced the accept it. And how comfortable will our troops be living in close quarters with someone who is openly gay? Sleeping next to them on the ground? Living in the barracks with them? The military is forced to accept and approve all of this. This is what I mean by forcing the military to abandon the neutral stance that DADT affords it.

What about gay marriage? Gays are allowed to get married in several states. How long will it be before some married gay man or married lesbian sues the military to have their spouse receive military benefits? To have their marriage recognized by the military? The military will no longer be able to remain neutral on these issues if DADT is repealed. The military will be forced to recognize and approve of gay marriage eventually, I can assure you of that. Gay rights activists aren’t going to stop at DADT. They’ll keep pushing.

All of these issues are going to come out by repealing DADT. There might be a time to deal with repealing DADT, but right now is not the time. We’re in the middle of fighting two wars, for cripe’s sake. Yet the House can’t even wait to vote on the repeal until the joint chiefs have finished assessing the situation? That alone just goes to show you that it is not the welfare of the military that these politicians are worried about. They’re pushing a gay rights agenda, simple as that. This is about making a statement, doing another little liberal social experiment. And that should bother anyone who cares about our troops. Our military does not exist for liberals to tinker with.

Cross-posted from my new milblog, Hard Corps Wife.