Feel-good military bill turns into gay rights debate
DENVER — A measure from Rep. Marsha Looper and Sen. Keith King that was intended to help military families in their darkest hour has gotten the pair of El Paso County Republicans branded as homophobes.
The bill, SB47, was intended to clarify who can make decisions about the burial of service members killed overseas. It would force the state to recognize the person troops designate on a Defense Department form as the one in charge of final arrangements.
It seemed like a fine idea to the state Senate, which signed off on the bill unanimously.
Now, Looper and King say they’ve been blindsided by hate mail and phone calls accusing them of a plot to impugn the rights of gay couples.
“I’m flabbergasted and shocked they came up with that,” said King, of Colorado Springs.
Calhan’s Looper said how the bill would impact homosexuals had not been a consideration.
“Now I’m being called a Bible-thumping homophobe,” she said.
Aurora activist Pam Bennett helped create the new view of King and Looper, but now admits she missed the mark and says the firestorm is the result of misunderstanding.
Her Monday blog post on the Web site Coloradopols.com said the measure they sponsored would trounce existing Colorado law that allows gay couples to make end-of-life decisions and would force gay military members to reveal the identities of their partners to the military.
“This diary is to point out what the far-right and Republicans will do to take away rights of people they hate,” Bennett wrote. “They will bide their time and bring in innocuous sounding legislation that is all wrapped up in the military, flag and if possible the Bible. But the intent is to destroy rights and take away people’s dignity.”
Bennett on Wednesday said the lawmakers had no ill intentions, but didn’t understand the bill’s impact on homosexuals.
King said he backed the measure to add clarity to Colorado law, ensuring there is no conflict between state and federal rules on burial and benefit decisions when troops die.
In rare cases, there have been nasty court fights over where soldiers are buried, Looper said. The bill was intended to have the troops, not judges, make the final call.
Bennett contends that gay military members, though, wouldn’t put their same-sex partners down on Defense Department forms as the person who gets to make those decisions.
Homosexuality is outlawed in the armed services; gay members can serve if they don’t reveal their sexuality under the Clinton-era policy dubbed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“If you are gay you’re not going to put your partner’s name on that form,” Bennett wrote. “That is ‘telling’.”
Bennett said she’ll work with lawmakers to come up with a fix for the bill so gay partnerships are recognized.
The bill is being mulled in the House, where Looper said she won’t back down.
The issue is about making life easier for grieving families, not gay rights, she said.
