Secretary of Defense Robert Gates appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday and told lawmakers that the department has begun discussing where to put Guantanamo Bay detainees if they cannot be released, tried or sent to other nations. That is, what should happen to detainees that have no where else to go but the United States?

As many as 100 detainees at Guantanamo fall under that category, Gates said. And in one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama vowed to close the controversial facility. But one of the conundrums has always been where to put them if the facility is closed. Indeed, as the United States has debated this very issue, many of the 241 being held there now have lived in legal limbo.

But on Thursday, members of the Appropriations Committee came back when an answer – not in my state. They pleaded, ranted, argued and tried to cajole Gates to not put the detainees in their state. 

They are worried that the facility would endanger the community (if one escapes anyway), bring down property values and the reputation of communities.

Gates decided to save that argument for later. "I fully expect to have 535 pieces of legislation before this is over saying: 'Not in my district. Not in my state.' And we'll just have to deal with that when the time comes," he told them.