Republican Senator James Inhofe took some time at the Value Voters Summit this week to explain in greater detail his ongoing desire to see Don’t Ask Don’t Tell upheld. Arguing that “you don’t have a constitutional right to serve in the military,” he warned that voting for a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell would be the same as voting for “open gay activity” and “abortions in our hospitals.”

Advertising

“I do not have to tell you the problems that would happen if you have an open gay situation there that allows people to use the military as a forum for their liberal agenda,” he told the audience, citing his own military experience as a source for his ideas against having an “openly gay situation” in the armed forces. He warned that DADT’s repeal would undermine military service and urged the crowd to put pressure on their representatives to keep it in place. He especially told them to remind their representatives that “if

you vote yes, you are voting for open gay activity in the military, and you are voting for abortions in our hospitals.”

It’s unclear whether “open gay activity” to Sen. Inhofe is general activity conducted by openly gay individuals or something more specific, but if he’s hinting at the latter, doesn’t tossing abortions into the mix hint at some some sort of misunderstanding of the consequences of “open gay activity?” That said, the involvement of abortions in this issue isn’t Inhofe’s fault– there is an amendment in the proposed bill discussing using government funds for abortions.

Watch the clip from Sen. Inhofe’s speech below:

[h/t Think Progress]

Tags: dadt, don't ask don't tell, James Inhofe, LGBT, military, Oklahoma, Value Voters Summit