By Marshall Griffin, St. Louis Public Radio
Jefferson City, Mo. – As both President Obama and America's top-ranking military officer call for allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the armed forces, Missouri lawmakers are responding with competing resolutions.
State Senator Jolie Justus (D, Kansas City) is sponsoring a resolution supporting the president's call to rescind the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which forbids gays from openly admitting their orientation while serving in the armed forces.
Justus, who's gay, says her partner is a veteran of the first Persian Gulf War who retired from the Army after Don't Ask Don't Tell was enacted in the early 90's.
"If my partner were in the military today, I could not go visit her, because of the fact that it would come out then that she's gay, and she would have her career ended, and that is absolutely ridiculous," Justus said.
State Senator Bill Stouffer (R, Napton) is sponsoring a competing resolution that calls for keeping "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in place.
Jack Jackson, a retired Marine Corps Colonel and former GOP candidate for Lt. Governor, voiced support for the resolution during a press conference/conference call today in Stouffer's State Capitol office.
"Whether you're for or against this lifestyle is not the issue...the issue is what will it do to morale...so to place social issues or other issues on the table in front of someone who's going off to war is the wrong thing to do," Jackson said.
The Missouri Democratic party, meanwhile, is accusing Stouffer of using taxpayer-funded resources to hold the press conference, and suggests it was staged to garner free publicity for Stouffer's campaign for Congress.
Stouffer denies the accusation.
"The federal government was created by the states to serve the states...I think that state legislators, uh, legislatures, certainly have an obligation to let their congressional folks know how they feel...this is not political in my mind at all," Stouffer said.
Stouffer is seeking the 4th U.S. Congressional seat currently held by Democrat Ike Skelton, who also supports "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and opposes President Obama's call to allow gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military. Skelton is Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
The Missouri Senate resolutions are merely symbolic of the legislature's opinion - they would have no legal authority over the Pentagon's policy.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates today announced plans for a year-long study into lifting the ban on gays and how doing so would impact the military.