US: Republican Todd Akin pushes for homophobic ‘licence to bully’ law
Missouri Republican Representative Todd Akin is giving one last push to an anti-gay bill before leaving the US House of Representatives.
Akin is proposing what Think Progress, an American political blog, is calling a “licence to bully” – a bill trying to undermine the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – a policy that kept gay and lesbian men and women from serving openly in the US military.
The Republican is asking to protect the religious liberties of military personnel who don’t agree with homosexuality.
The Washington Blade reports that under the bill, the armed forces must accommodate the conscience and sincerely held moral principles and religious beliefs of the members of the US military – regarding the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality.
Arizona senator and former 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and Republican California Representative Howard McKeon are both supporting the measure.
However, former US military commander Allyson Robinson believes it’s nothing more than a “licence to discriminate.”
She said if the bill passes, “it will compromise good order and discipline.”
Akin made headlines back in August for his comments on “legitimate rape” while speaking out against abortion.
He lost his seat to Democrat Claire McCakill in November’s US election.
