Muslims, Chinese, Russians will have a ‘hard time’ with gay US troops says Virginia Republican Bob Marshall [video]
”Unit cohesion is compromised. You’re going to have a significant departure from troops in the Marines. Up to 48% will quit or leave early. Uh, and up to about, 37% of the Army troops will quit early because they do not want to serve under these conditions. They didn’t enlist under these conditions. And, again, the surveys that were taken show a distinct reduction in the fighting force ability if you do this….
”This decision was made by Obama as a political one, not a military one. There’s about 200 militaries in the world. Roughly about 27 of them allow open homosexuals to serve. Most of them are in Western Europe. These were the result of court cases, not military decisions. The two biggest with voluntary militaries — Pakistan, does not allow open homosexuals; China with such conscription does not do it; India does not allow it; the Russians do not do it. So, we’re pushing the envelope here, and we’re going to jeopardize, I think, our alliances, when we fight beside Muslim troops who have a real hard time dealing with this behavior.”
Republican Del. Bob Marshall of Prince William County, Virginia, telling WTVR why gays should be banned from Viriginia’s National Guard despite the fact that Congress voted in December to overturn the military’s ban on known lesbian and gay soldiers. (WTVR)
Marshall claims that Pentagon surveys show that there will be a massive exodus from the Marines and Army, but when asked for empirical evidence, he says that he is referring to a 1993 survey, not the new 2010 survey. He says Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) is in charge of the National Guard in that state and that unless the President federalizes the force for a state of emergency, military regulations do not apply.
Marshall has introduced a number of measures that people have called everything from ridiculous to disturbing. McDonnell, for his part, has already stated that he has no interest in diverging from the military’s pending policy on openly gay servicemembers.
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