No One "Asked" 'Em, Still Missouri Lawmakers "Tell" Their Positions on Gays in Military

The water is warm, and Missouri legislators are jumping in with abandon.

​St. Louis Public Radio reporter Marshall Griffin has an amusing story today on Missouri legislators attempting to make themselves relevant to a national debate currently underway.
 
In Washington D.C. this morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings to review the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy towards homosexuals in its ranks.

And in Jefferson City, state lawmakers rolled out resolutions both in support and opposition to gays serving openly in the military. 

On one side is state senator Jolie Justus (D-Kansas City), a gay politician whose partner served in the Persian Gulf War. Justus has drafted a resolution in support of President Barack Obama and his efforts to allow gays to serve openly in the armed forces.

Conversely, today state senator Bill Stouffer (R-Napton) held a press conference to introduce his resolution in support of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Per St. Louis Public Radio:

stoufferforcongress.com

Brokeback shirt aside, Bill Stouffer is 100 percent hetero.

​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.

He's right. It's sexual.