Another sponsor for MREA and DADT repeal
by Matt | March 29th, 2006 |Yesterday on March 28th, another member of the US House of Representatives signed on to be an official co-sponsor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (House bill 1059).
According to an article published by the Southern Voice Online House Armed Services Committee member, US Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), has signed up to co-sponsor the MREA, which would repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy:
Representative McKinney’s decision to sign onto the bill, however, has not been without controversy. Her father has chastised gay voters for not supporting her in her recent campaigns for office.
According to the SoVo article:
McKinney’s chief of staff, Warren Miller, and her father, Billy McKinney, met with local gay activists March 18 at her district office in Decatur. The meeting may have prompted her decision to back the military bill after months of lobbying from national and local gay rights organizations, according to Danny Ingram, a member of the local chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights.
At the March 18 meeting, Billy McKinney chastised gay voters for allegedly not supporting his daughter in 2002 when she lost her congressional seat to Denise Majette. McKinney regained her seat in 2004 and, until this week, had not signed on to co-sponsor any of the pro-gay measures tracked by the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay political group that endorsed her in 2002, but not in her comeback bid.
During the meeting, Billy McKinney suggested that gay groups needed to endorse his daughter to ensure her support for repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” “I want your names saying you support her campaign right now and I’ll make it public,” he told attendees.
As of right now, the MREA is sitting in the Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel. For more information on the bill see THOMAS.
In related news, check out PageOneQ’s post on the Log Cabin Republicans DADT lawsuit, which has been thrown out by US District Court judge in the Ninth Circuit of central California.
P.S. - I’m also really happy to see that Representative Brad Miller (D-NC-13) is a co-sponsor also. He signed up on October 28, 2005.
3 Responses to “Another sponsor for MREA and DADT repeal”
Oh the joys of Cynthia on a Thursday afternoon…
Is it just a coincidence that you wrote about Cynthia the day after she “punched” or “scuffled” with a Capitol Hill Policeman??
Cynthia is my United States Representative. She represents the Dekalb/Decatur area of Atlanta which is very liberal and Jewish with a large gay community. It’s the educated Emory University area.
Cynthia has said some wild things in the past (9/11 conspiracy accusation)…but she’s done a decent job throughout the years. When I worked for Congressman John Lewis - he described her as the step-child who liked to “act out.”
Her father is another story. He’s an equal opportunity offender. In the week preceeding the 2002 elections, Billy brought in Louis Farahkahn to publicly endorse Cynthia. Considering his daughters district has a LARGE Jewish population - that wasn’t a good idea. Cynthia lost in the primary and then Billy immediately blamed the “Jews.”
It’s amazing that its 2006 and an archaic policy such as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” is still on the books….
By Big Daddy Weave on Mar 30, 2006
Yes… it is just a coincidence. I heard about Representative McKinney’s little scuffle last night on MSNBC. I just laughed a little when I heard it and thought, “That’s interesting.”
By Matt on Mar 30, 2006
Thanks for the Props…
Mike Rogers
PageOneQ
By Mike Rogers on Apr 26, 2006