Did they repeal article 125 or the UCMJ?
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)
ART. 125. SODOMY
(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration , however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense.
(b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
First, the language of the amendment is confusing; it was clearly slapped together, so it’s not readily apparent what it does.
It does clearly state that “NO BENEFITS” go with this bill: “Benefits- Nothing in this section, or the amendments made by this section, shall be construed to require the furnishing of benefits in violation of section 7 of title 1, United States Code (relating to the definitions of `marriage’ and `spouse’ and referred to as the `Defense of Marriage Act’).”
It also clearly states that nobody can SUE because of this bill: “No Private Cause of Action- Nothing in this section, or the amendments made by this section, shall be construed to create a private cause of action.”
The actions it takes relative to codes appears to be only two:
1: TITLE 10- Upon the effective date established by subsection (b), chapter 37 of title 10, United States Code, is amended (A) by striking section 654; and (B) in the table of sections at the beginning of such chapter, by striking the item relating to section 654.
2: CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Upon the effective date established by subsection (b), section 571 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (10 U.S.C. 654 note) is amended by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d).
Title 10 section 654 must be the section that says no gays in the military, and section 571 of 1994 authorization is clearly the “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” provision.
So it certainly doesn’t appear that they did anything about the UCMJ. Although that is not governed by law, right?
Normally, it wouldn’t matter since the supreme court struck down sodomy laws as unconstitutional. BUT, the court has ruled that the military doesn’t have to follow the same constitutional restrictions, so the sodomy rules could well still apply.
Buy my guess is Obama will simply re-write that part of the code, so unless someone passes a law dictating that section of the code, we are probably out of luck.