crossposted at Get-The-Skinny.com 

My wonderful state delegate, Bob Marshal, (R) Manassas, VA, who proudly displays an endorsement by the Family Research Council, would like to ensure that Teh Ghey doesn't infect the Virginia National Guard by passing a counter-legislative bill at the state level. (Photo Credit: Advocate.com)

“This policy will weaken military recruitment and retention, and will increase pressure for a military draft,'' Marshall said. “After 232 years of prohibiting active, open homosexuals from enlisting in our military, President Obama and a majority in Congress are conducting a social experiment with our troops and our national security…In countries where religions and cultures find homosexual acts immoral, the Obama administration's repeal policy will work to the detriment of all American troops in securing local cooperation with our nation's foreign policy goals.”

The Senate's vote to repeal the 17-year-old federal ''don't ask, don't tell' policy came a week after the House approved it. President Obama has said he will sign the bill.

Marshall, who is considering running for U.S. Senate in 2012 [to unseat Sen. Jim Webb (D)], is one of the House's most conservative members. He said Article 1, Section 8, Clause 16 of the Constitution gives Virginia the authority to uphold the ban by “reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.

Source: WaPo Virginia Politics Blog

Equality Virginia's Claire Guthree Gastanaga thinks that any attempt at the state level to enforce such legislations would be nullified by existing federal law.

“Any state statute seeking to set different standards for the Virginia National Guard would be a nullity with no effect,'' she said. “It is a shame that Delegate Marshall would dishonor the brave men and women serving in our National Guard by seeking to make political points at their expense and waste the time of his colleagues in the Virginia General Assembly who have pressing matters to attend to like balancing the budget and finding solutions to the traffic problems that are the real and present concern of his constituents.”

Marshall insists that according to the Constitution the States retain the rights to appoint officers to Militias it's fully within the rights of Virginia to ban open service.

Contact info below the fold:

http://delegatebob.com/contact

Remember, be respectful when contacting the state delegate to tell him how you really feel.

Robert G. Marshall
Delegate of 13th District
P.O. Box 421
Manassas, VA 20108

703 – 361 – 5416 (office and fax)
703 – 853 – 4213 (cell) (preferred)