Illinois Republicans Block Guantanamo Prison Transfer

By aaroncynic in News on Dec 21, 2010 7:20PM

Mark Kirk may have done the right thing and voted to repeal DADT over the weekend, but not without a price tag.

Talking Points Memo reports Illinois Republicans, lead by Kirk, warned that should a provision that bans Guantanamo detainees from the United States be taken out of the Defense Authorization Act, Kirk wouldn't have voted to repeal.

The Defense Authorization Act passed on Friday in the House with a vote of 341 to 48.

The plan, put together by Democrats, “prohibits the release of detainees into the United States or its territories,” meaning that detainees will still remain indefinitely detained. The restriction not only applies to the much-debated prison in Thomson, Illinois but to “the whole country” according to Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) (via Politico). While more liberal congressmen like Barney Frank weren’t exactly happy about the measure, passing the DADT repeal was more important. Frank told Politico he didn’t like it, but “we would have gotten stuck with that anyway.”