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Posted on 05/09/2011 6:16:00 AM PDT by markomalley
(CNSNews.com) – Anticipating the elimination of the military ban on homosexuality, the Office of the Chief of Navy Chaplains has decided that same-sex couples in the Navy will be able to get married in Navy chapels, and that Navy chaplains will be allowed to perform the ceremonies -- if homosexual marriage is legal in the state where the unions are to be performed.
The advisory came in the form of an April 13 memo issued to all chaplains, in which the Chief of Navy Chaplains, Admiral Michael Tidd, said the Chaplain Corps was revising its Tier I training manuals, which had previously indicated that same-sex marriages are not authorized on federal property.
Instead, Tidd called for chaplains to comply with service-wide efforts underway to be more accepting of homosexuality and same-sex marriage as the end of the military policy on homosexuality nears.
Citing "additional legal review" by Navy attorneys, the admiral said the Navy "has concluded that, generally speaking, base facility use is sexual orientation neutral.”
“If the base is located in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, then the base facilities may be used to celebrate the marriage,” the admiral’s directive states.
The admiral’s memo also gives chaplains permission to "marry" homosexual couples – but would not force them to perform ceremines.
“Regarding chaplain participation, consistent with the tenets of his or her religious organization, a chaplain may officiate a same-sex, civil marriage: if it is conducted in accordance with the laws of the state which permits same-sex marriages or union; and if the chaplain is, according to applicable state and local laws, otherwise fully certified to officiate that state’s marriages.”
Navy spokeswoman Alana Garas confirmed the change was ordered, but told CNSNews.com that the document “does not reflect a change in policy, but a change in Tier I training for Navy chaplains that looks forward to when Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is removed”— something which will not happen, she said, until 60 days after the president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify to Congress that repeal will not harm military readiness.
But Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is concerned that, in its haste to “hustle-in homosexuality,” the Navy may be violating federal law – the Defense of Marriage Act.
“Offering up federal facilities and federal employees for same-sex marriage violates DOMA, which is still the law of the land and is bound to the duties of our military, including chaplains,” Steve Taylor, communications director for Akin, told CNSNews.com.
“The administration and various states may be operating as if DOMA doesn't exist, but the Navy and Marine Corps and all the Armed Services are sworn to obey the law, which this new instruction violates,” he added.
Tom McLusky, vice president of government relations at the Family Research Council, agreed that the Navy is totally ignoring DOMA, part of which defines marriage for federal government purposes as being between one man and one woman.
“You’re talking about government facilities and government employees, so it would seem to be a direct violation of DOMA,” McClusky told CNSNews.com. “I’m not seeing a lot of wiggle room there.”
He said conservatives had warned months ago that the push to repeal the military ban on homosexuality would lead to efforts to introduce same-sex marriage -- but were dismissed at the time.
“This is what we thought was going to happen, and unfortunately now its happening,” McClusky said.
“Unfortunately, the military is getting out in front on this issue and when you have a president who doesn’t believe the Defense of Marriage Act is a law he needs to follow, it’s no surprise that the military would follow his lead,” he added. “The president may think he’s above the law, but he’s not. If he has a problem with the Defense of Marriage Act, that’s something that he needs to address legislatively, not just by ignoring it.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), said the change in training was a “good example of the type of uncertainty and confusion created in the rush to change the previous policy.”
“Trying to make sense of this issue, for example, is something that should have been thought out beforehand – assuming the administration was even serious about doing this efficiently, fairly and respectfully,” Hunter’s communications director Joe Kasper told CNSNews.com.
Hunter plans on offering an amendment to the annual defense bill to require that all of the chiefs of the armed services – not just the chairman -- would have to submit certification that removing the military ban on homosexuality wouldn’t harm unit cohesion and military order.
Four states plus the District of Columbia currently issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples – Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Maryland, New York and Rhode Island recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
looks like some serious inheriting by accideent will be occuring.
force a marriage = accident = jackpot money.
I would say they got his name wrong. It should be Admiral Mark L Tidd.
Anyway, in addition to being at best an equivocating spineless bureaucrat hiding behind an interpretation of law that violates actual law (DOMA), one who seems to forget who his real boss is, God --this guy is/was a reservist -some background:
The question is -- Serve Who?
-coincidental article posted on FR: Possible removal of gay ordination ban stirs Presbyterian debate {pinko alert}
Some may think all these things are happening by chance and getting leaked and or publicized by chance rather than by community organized concerted effort.
I would say that half the news heralding the advancement of the acceptance of homosexual sex normalcy is propaganda and that the people doing it are either directly promoting self destruction or just useful idiots.
What of this 'news'? I think more propaganda than actual reality -more fear bait to get people to accept the apparent innevitable.
It always seems darkest before the light.
this is comming from people who were upset the USSR fell because they felt the USA needed to be “balanced”
When the USSR fell their job security fell too.
Gut the military and you gut the USA.
Go to this FR thread U.S. Army threatens to court-martial chaplains who speak against homosexuality that addresses the article at the link you were directed to.
There's some good discussion on the thread if you read the comments.
CNN had some reportereette asking a candidate about the “inevitable acceptance”.
Why not just say inevitably accept murder?
How long have the pundits been saying recreational drugs are INEVITABLY going to be legal?
There is no way that the Priests will do this. Catholics will never have to do this lucky. The Chaplains that are part of that protestant group are the ones that don’t mind this and authorizes same-sex marriage. Those are the ones that will perform same sex marriages. I just wonder if they will be required to do so. I guarantee that the Protestants at Chaplain school in Newport, RI will have at least a seminar on performing same sex marriages that will be mandatory.
Does that mean if 2 Catholics want a same-sex wedding the chaplain-priest has to comply?
No they won’t but Protestants will have too.
Avoid buying anything that you don’t need. Become more self-sufficient each month, and start a hobby of manufacturing something of necessity. Criticize politics.
Have fun. Enjoy the ride.
There will be a bunch of chaplains resigning.
Everybody always says this and it never happens. The Marines have not seen any movement with resignations. There has not been any due to gays allowed in the Military. The Navy either. The Navy would welcome 3000 Sailors to leave tomorrow. They are starting boards in June to get rid of 3000 Sailors between 7 years and 15 years by 1 October. So trust me if people would leave because of any of these reasons the branches would welcome this.
Christianity should request separate chapels,
Oh and who is going to pay for this huge expense. We only have 15 trillion in debt and now you want to add another trillion. Nice. There must be other options than this.
...related on the historical cycle of empires.
The Collapse Of The American Standard Of Living, Inflationary Depression
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2716995/posts
It’s not a matter of building any new buildings. Obviously, the majority groups will need the biggest, current chapels.
The gay groups can have any other building designated a chapel, and there are always unused or minimally used buildings on military reservations. It wouldn’t really cost anything.
Besides, a gay wedding is a desecration of a holy space which is not permitted..
I agree with you completely about the premise of this but I thought you were serious about building other chapels for those who wanted to have a gay wedding. By the time you build on every military base, reserve base, ships, etc. it would cost a fortune. lol.
When we had to have a Muslim chapel they just designated an unused building “Muslim Chapel” and drove on. Of course, there was a need for chairs and whatever else gets used in Muslim worship, but it was no great expense.
It was far more expensive when we TOTALLY renovated our barracks from a “maintenance/repair” pot of money one year, and tore them down 2 years later, when we built new ones out of a “new construction” pot of money.
That is top of my list for the dumbest expenditure of tons of money that I have ever personally witnessed.
That’s true. I have seen that here too....
“...There have been forces aggressively working to slowly destroy western civilization and most especially Christendom for 200 years +/- a few decades here or there.”
You are spot-on, mark...
But - We can only be “de-Christianized” if we LET ourselves be.
There’s a whole mess of us, brother. Legions.
About time we all realized it, stood up together, and got in THEIR faces for once.
The results would be astounding - and probably terrifying to the Left.
Makes me smile just thinking about it.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
Before long, buggery will be mandatory.
I’m heading off to my mandatory DADT repeal in a couple of weeks and it a big factor of consideration in that I may resign my commission.
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