National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2012

The National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2012 (NDAA 2012) was passed by the House and Senate this month.  Most of what the Act proposes will help our veterans and do positive things for the military, veterans, and United States defense and peacekeeping operations.  Certain parts of NDAA 2012 has caused an uproar across a wide swath of Americans, from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to Ron Paul.  It is possible, however, that certain parties want to see this bill fail for reasons other than what they say.

The majority of people enraged about NDAA 2012 have focused on "Sections 1031: Indefinite Detention" and "1032: Requirement for Military Custody". 

According to the NDAA text of Section 1031, the President will have the authority to allow the military to detain any person "who was part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces," under the law of war, "without trial, until the end of hostilities." The text also authorizes trial by military tribunal, or "transfer to the custody or control of the person's country of origin," or transfer to "any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity."  This would apply to US citizens and other legal residents of the United States as well as any other human being. 

According to the NDAA text of Section 1032, all persons arrested and detained according to the provisions of section 1031, including those detained on U.S. soil, whether detained indefinitely or not, are required to serve their time in military prisons run by the US Armed Forces.  Lawful resident aliens may or may not be required to be detained by the Armed Forces, "on the basis of conduct taking place within the United States."

Sections 1031 and 1032 could potentially put many innocent people at risk for persecution, incarceration, and deportation.

NDAA 2012 has redefined sexual assault and rape, and sets out to make punishments for the perpetrators more strict.  Marriage will no longer be a shield that perpetrators can use for abusing their spouses.  While this is a positive aspect to NDAA 2012 that should not go overlooked, NDAA 2012 provides no abortion services for women who were sexually assaulted or raped.  Military women have less access than civilian women in the United States to abortion services, but are the most at risk for rape.

What no one has mentioned about NDAA 2012, which is buried in the myriad of sections, definitions, and amendments, is that NDAA 2012 sets out to repeal the Sodomy Article--article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  Repeal of the Sodomy Article will allow gay and lesbian soldiers to have consensual sexual intimacy in the same way that heterosexual soldiers do.  Repeal of the Sodomy Article also will help people in the Armed Forces report sexual assault or rape in a more accurate way that will not discriminate against gay or lesbian soldiers.  As the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" has already taken place, repeal of the Sodomy Article would drive the final nail in the coffin where discrimination against gay and lesbian servicepeople would be put to rest.

Government documents are long, laborious things to read.  They are written that way on purpose, to hide details that might get approved along with major points.  For this reason, it is worth the time to locate the original government documents and read them for yourself before reading what others have to say about them.  Saint Cloud State University has a great list of resources to help you find any state or federal government document; do not hesitate to contact a helpful librarian to learn how to use them.