FRC Urges Congress to Heed General Conway: Defend Current Law on Open Homosexuality in the Military

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Aug 24, 2010, 06:42 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council today urged Members of Congress to heed comments offered today by Marine Corps Commandant General James Conway in which he once again expressed his opposition to the Obama administration's push to overturn the law on open homosexuality in the military. The four service chiefs have also asked Congress to respect the troops' wishes but they have been ignored by Democratic Congressional leadership.

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General Conway explained during today's news conference, "My own surveys indicate that it's not age-dependent, it's not rank-dependent, it's not where you are from, it's … pretty uniformly not endorsed as the ideal way ahead, but I just think all those things have impact on the Marines, and we'd just as soon not see it [the law] changed."

Family Research Council President and Marine veteran Tony Perkins made the following comments:

"The Obama administration and Congressional leadership continue to use the military to push a liberal social agenda; disregarding the views of General Conway, the other service chiefs and the men and women in uniform who actually understand what it means to selflessly serve. The views of military leaders are informed by long years of experience at every level of military service from boot camp through the harshest conditions of combat. They deserve to be heard, not shut down.

"The survey currently being conducted by the Department of Defense assumes the repeal of the current law and asks service personnel only their views of how to implement such a plan. The survey does not address the much more profound and pertinent question of whether or not repeal should go forward.

"General Conway's own survey is supported by a national survey released earlier this month by the Polling Group which shows that our servicemen and women oppose changing current law by a 23-point margin.

"We call on the U.S. Senate to listen to our troops and avoid using the military to advance the political agenda of a radical special interest group."

SOURCE Family Research Council