House Republicans vote to punish the gays

House leadership, aka a bunch of bigots. Speaker John Boehner, Rep. Paul Ryan,
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Rep. Eric Cantor and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters) House Republicans reacted to President Obama's historic announcement in support of marriage equality with some good old-fashioned legislative gay-bashing.

House Republicans voted Wednesday night to bar the Justice Department from using any federal funds to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act. They added the prohibitions to an appropriations measure. [...]

Also Wednesday night, the House Armed Services Committee voted to bar gay and lesbian service members from getting married or holding 'marriage-like' ceremonies at military facilities.

The Justice Department announced last year that it would no longer defend DOMA in the courts because it had determined the law was unconstitutional. House Speaker John Boehner promptly announced he wasn't going let a little thing like unconstitutionality get in the way of discrimination, and that the House would take up the cause. They've now one-upped that to prevent the administration from actually fighting the unconstitutional law.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi got this one exactly right:

"On an historic day and in the dark of night, House Republicans have voted to tie the hands of the Obama Administration with respect to their efforts to end discrimination against America's families."