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发帖数: 19713 | 1 Pentagon Gives Chaplains OK to Officiate Same-Sex Weddings
By Andrew Harmon
NAVY CHAPLAIN WHITE HOUSE X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM
After months of legal review, the Department of Defense announced Friday
that military chaplains may officiate in same-sex wedding ceremonies of
service members in states where gay marriage is legal. Such ceremonies can
be performed on military bases, officials wrote in a Friday memorandum.
In connection with repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," Under Secretary of
Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford L. Stanley wrote in the DoD
memo:
"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. Further, a chaplain is not
required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would
be in variance with the tenets of his or her religion or personal beliefs.
Finally, a military chaplain’s participation does not constitute an
endorsement of the ceremony by DoD."(A PDF of the memo is available here.)
Also released by the Pentagon Friday is a Sept. 21 facilities memo signed by
DoD general counsel Jeh Johnson, who wrote that "military facilities for
private functions, including religious and other ceremonies, should be made
on a 'sexual-orientation neutral' basis, provided such use is not prohibited
by applicable state and local laws."
The guidance concurs with a previous decision by Navy Chief of Chaplains
Rear Adm. Mark L. Tidd, who in April clarified upon the advice of legal
counsel that individual chaplains would therefore be permitted — and
expressly not obligated — to officiate weddings for gay and lesbian service
members at base facilities in states that allow marriage for same-sex
couples, Tidd wrote.
However, Tidd suspended his own guidance pending Pentagon legal review;
social conservative groups and a group of 63 House Republicans had blasted
his guidance, claiming it violated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act.
The Pentagon guidance comes on the same day as the retirement of Chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, whose personal support for
ending “don’t ask, don’t tell” gave a crucial boost to the repeal
movement. Appearing before a Senate committee hearing in February 2010,
Mullen testified that he was troubled by a policy that “forces young men
and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens
."
Appearing in his final news conference last week with Secretary of Defense
Leon Panetta, Mullen said of completed “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal,
“Today is really about every man and woman who serves this country, every
man and woman in uniform, regardless of how they define themselves. And
tomorrow, they’ll all get up, they’ll all go to work, and they’ll all be
able to do that work honestly. And their fellow citizens will be safe from
harm. And that’s all that really matters.”
Reaction from LGBT advocacy groups:
Aubrey Sarvis, executive director, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network:
“We are pleased the Department of Defense has made it clear that a military
Chaplain is allowed to perform any lawful ceremony that is consistent with
his or her beliefs and is not required to perform a ceremony that is
inconsistent with those beliefs. We are also pleased that access to military
facilities will be granted on a sexual-orientation-neutral basis. The
guidance issued today strikes the right balance between respecting the faith
traditions of chaplains and affording all service members the same rights
under current law. This is another logical step in the direction of full
equality for gay and lesbian service members, and we hope the Department
will continue to move down that path.”
Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese:
“I applaud the Department of Defense for protecting the religious freedoms
of all military chaplains. As we move into a new era of open service, today
’s decision by the Department of Defense ensures that all military families
, including lesbian and gay military families, have equal access to military
facilities.”
Alex Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United:
"Now that 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is gone, there is nothing prohibiting
chaplains whose denominations do not discriminate from treating same-sex
couples equally in accordance with state and local laws. There are many
chaplains in the military who simply do not believe that gay and lesbian
servicemembers are second-class citizens, and those chaplains should have
the freeom to practice their religion as they see fit, including officiating
at ceremonies that their denominations recognize." |
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