Military chaplains authorized to conduct same-sex ceremonies

The Pentagon

Same-sex marriage proponents who celebrated the end of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” in the U.S. military two weeks ago have found a reason to renew their celebrations.

The Department of Defense issued a pair of memos Friday that authorize military chaplains to conduct same-sex “ceremonies” on or off base and make military property, such as a chapel, available on a “neutral-to-sexual-orientation” basis.

The law of the land regarding marriage in the United States has been the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton.

The federal law, defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, has been under increasing attack since President Obama took office in January 2009.

One newly released memo, signed by Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, provides guidelines to all military chaplains that “supersedes” prior guidelines.

It states that a military chaplain “may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law.”

A second Defense memo declared that the military must make its facilities available in a way that is “neutral to sexual orientation.”

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., issued a statement Friday also criticizing the Defense Department memos. In it, he says, “DOMA clearly applies to the Department of Defense.”

“The Department of Defense has decided to put the White House’s liberal agenda ahead of following the law,” Akin said. “The Defense of Marriage Act makes it clear that for the purposes of the federal government, marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. The use of federal property or federal employees to perform gay marriage ceremonies is a clear contravention of the law.”

Akin noted that in May, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act carrying his amendment on the issue.

“My amendment, which is now the position of the House of Representatives, would make it clear that federal employees and federal property can only be used to support marriages that are consistent with DOMA,” Akin said.

According to his official webpage, the Akin amendment is section 535 of H.R. 1540, which passed the House of Representatives May 26.

In an email to WND, Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt of the Pray In Jesus Name Project said Obama’s Pentagon “issued new regulations Friday forcing all military chaplains to facilitate homosexual wedding ceremonies in military chapels in some states” or face disciplinary action.

“In other words, chaplains MUST open up their chapels to desecration,” Klingenschmitt said.

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council also issued a statement on the issue.

“It is outrageous that only 10 days after repeal of the law against homosexuality in the Armed Forces, the Defense Department is already pushing the military further down the slippery slope,” he said. “The repeal law passed by the lame-duck Congress last year said nothing about authorizing same-sex ‘weddings’ on military bases or by military chaplains.”

Perkins argued that the Defense of Marriage Act “remains the law in America, defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman for all purposes under federal law.”

He noted that the House already taken action to reinforce DOMA, “which clearly repudiates the policy announced today.”

“I urge the Obama administration to end its multi-front attack upon marriage, and I urge the Senate to act upon the legislation which would forbid this further exploitation of our military to advance a radical social agenda,” concluded Perkins.

Klingenschmitt told WND that supporters of the newly released memo will point out that some chaplains will be allowed to “opt out” of presiding over same-sex weddings, but even they “will soon be labeled ‘discriminators’ and passed over for promotion, as ‘not a team player.’”

Perkins cited a letter sent to Congress to support the claim, which says in part:

We are veteran service members, primarily chaplains, who expect that military religious liberty will come under significant threat from the government’s decision to force open homosexual behavior on our military.

The whole reason that the chaplaincy corps exists is to fulfill the constitutional imperative of protecting service members’ rights to freedom of religion. Katcoff v. Marsh, 755 F.2d 223, 234 (2d Cir. 1985) (“Unless the [military] provided a chaplaincy it would deprive the [service member] of his right under the Establishment Clause not to have religion inhibited and of his right under the Free Exercise Clause to practice his freely chosen religion.”).

Chaplains and service members have told us they are very concerned they will be marginalized and even punished for being faithful to their religious beliefs in the wake of the repeal. We share those concerns. In fact, some chaplains have already personally experienced the punitive atmosphere this repeal has generated.