McKeon: No Defense Bill Without Antigay Amendment

House Armed Services Committee chair Buck McKeon is playing hardball over an amendment in the defense spending bill that would bar military chaplains from officiating same-sex weddings — a position at odds with recent Pentagon guidance.

McKeon said during a Friday appearance on C-SPAN that he would rather not see the bill pass this year if the antigay amendment is not included. Senate Armed Services Committee chair Carl Levin has said that he would strongly oppose such an amendment in the Senate version of the bill.

McKeon was undeterred, however. “I’m hopeful that the Senate will look at those votes and will understand our feelings on this issue,” he said of the chaplain issue. “This was one of the concerns that we had – that we were rushing this, to eliminate this, before we had fully prepared things. And [the Defense of Marriage Act] is the law of the land.”

Read The Hill’s report here.