27 GOP House Reps Co-Sponsor Randy Weber's Bill To Ban Federal Recognition Of Out-Of-State Same-Sex Marriages

Yesterday House Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) introduced a laughably doomed bill that would limit the federal government to only recognizing same-sex marriages that are legally conducted in the state where the married couple resides. Since the bill's introduction, 27 GOP members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors. The list so far is a cavalcade of crackpottery: Michele Bachmann, Louis Gohmert, John Fleming, etc. Eleven of the 27 co-sponsors are from Texas.

SWeber, a freshman rep and former air conditioner repairman, has previously only authored one failed House resolution. Therefore I suspect his bill was actually written by the Family Research Council, who jointly announced its introduction yesterday with an appearance by Weber on Tony Perkins' national radio show. Other anti-gay hate groups are today praising the bill, including NOM, which posted the below message today on their blog.

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) today expressed its support for a bill announced in Congress yesterday, the “State Marriage Defense Act of 2014” (HR 3829), and praised Representative Randy Weber (R-TX) for authoring and introducing “this vitally important legislation.” “Representative Weber deserves praise for this vitally important legislation which will lend clarity to the way states’ marriage laws are dealt with by federal agencies,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s President. “The bill simply reaffirms and strengthens the rights reserved by the states under the US constitution.” Brown also said that the bill is based upon a proper understanding of last summer’s decision by the Supreme Court in the Windsor case that struck down one facet of the law but supported states’ rights to determine their own definition of marriage.

Wonkette today posted a typically fabulous reaction.

Given that even Utah briefly recognized gay marriage, we are pretty sure that this legislation isn’t going to go anywhere, let alone have a chance in hell of passing the Senate with Harry Reid being the badass that he is. However, it is a good reminder that there has always and forever been only one form of marriage which is between a man with a PENIS and a woman with governmentally regulated LADYPARTS the GOP continues to hate on the gays in new and inventive ways. We have no idea if this bill deals with age-of-marriage laws, which also differ between states, but we guess that so long as that 12-year-old GIRL is marrying a 40-year-old MAN, Weber and his ilk are probably totes cool with it, because that is WAY MOAR BETTERER than two consenting adult menfolk doin’ it in the butt.

FRC Holds DC Presser In Support Of Anti-Gay "Religious Liberty" Military Bill

Yesterday, flanked by several of the most anti-gay members of Congress, hate group leader Tony Perkins held a press conference to launch a new website in support of Rep. John Fleming's defense spending bill that would prohibit punishing soldiers for harassing gay troops on the basis of "sincerely held religious beliefs."  No actual mention of gay military members was made yesterday, as the FRC is now spinning the bill as merely protecting soldiers who want to keep a Bible on their desk, blah blah blah. President Obama knows what the bill is really about and strongly condemned it when it first passed in a House committee last month.

Perkins Cheers Rep. John Fleming

"President Obama can't veto the First Amendment, so he's doing the next best thing: refusing to let his troops exercise it. In his most combative move yet, the administration warned Congress yesterday that it strongly opposes Rep. John Fleming's religious freedom amendment, which sailed through the House Armed Services Committee with bipartisan support. Now, the administration is taking its spite to new heights by threatening to withhold a year's worth of defense funding over a simple amendment protecting the same rights our troops fight for every day. The administration, which had been content to drive faith underground in the military, is moving to its next phase: driving faith out. Welcome to Obama's military, where open homosexuality is encouraged but open belief is not." - Hate group leader Tony Perkins, via press release.

Rep. John Fleming Defends Amendment To Allow Harassment Of Gay Troops

"President Obama is continuing his war on free speech. With the IRS trying to intimidate and silence conservative groups, and the Justice Department digging into the phone records of reporters, it’s no surprise that the president also wants to deny First Amendment rights to our Armed Forces. With its statement, the White House is now endorsing military reprimands of members who keep a Bible on their desk or express a religious belief. That is an outrageous position, but it’s what I’ve come to expect from an administration that is aggressively hostile toward religious beliefs that it deems to be politically incorrect.

"My amendment protects, for our men and women in uniform, a principle enshrined in our Constitution and cherished since our Founding Fathers: the free exercise of one’s religious beliefs, including expressions of one’s belief. It has bipartisan support and takes into account the unique context of military service, accommodating the beliefs of our service members, while not jeopardizing military necessity. We need to protect the free speech of the brave warriors who fight to safeguard our liberties, and I hope Congress will reject this blatant White House attack on religious freedom." - Rep. John Fleming (R-LA) reacting to President Obama's criticism of his defense appropriations amendment that prohibits punishing soldiers who abuse gay troops. (Via Washington Blade)