Navy Chaplains to Perform Same Sex Marriages in Navy Chapels
I wanted title this post WTF, but maybe it’s just me and my inner geezer who is confused?
One version of the story is here.
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.
For various reasons this seems to be a proverbial ‘cart before horse’ scenario.
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.
And DADT is STILL official policy as far as I can tell anyway? The article goes on to say this particular Navy policy change is in preparation for the time if and or when, the overall policy is changed?
Yep, I’m confused… Geezer or not.
Category: Military issues, Pointless blather, Politics
There are too many laws and rules and regulations. Some are permissive, others are restrictive, and no one knows them all. It’s why JAG keeps at least one its attorneys on full-time legal research status (Ethics comes to mind).
According to the brief the DOD will not recognize same sex marriages. So I do not see how the reverse of DADT will allow this at this moment.
Too many folks rushing for the gold who didn’t consider the consequnces. Of course, with DADT being repealed, and eventually UCMJ being re-written, DOMA is the next big ticket item to get GLBT community’s gold.
Well, since Navy Chapels are located on Navy Bases, that means they’re on Federal property and DOMA is the law. No same-sex weddings there, thank you very much!
Looks like everyone who believed in the slippery slope theory is becoming more correct as time goes by. This will be a minor change as the repeal goes forward. There will be more changes coming that will make this one seem small. What the hell is going on in America? Why does the office of Navy Chaplains think they have the authority to make this decision? I can’t believe we even have to debate this. Moral decline is spiraling out of control.
It’s war and their side has no rules. In regard to it all.
I have long maintained that the Navy Chaplain Corps was mere window dressing and no longer functioned as originally intended.
Getting rid of all of them would be a great cost cutting measure. Chaplains should be outsourced anyway.
“And DADT is STILL official policy as far as I can tell anyway?”
Yup, and yet openly “gay” troops are being kept in the service. The rule is not the rule. The rule doesn’t matter. Only doing what the homosexuals wants matters.
This is a marriage law issue, and the confusion here seems to stem from misunderstanding how marriage operates under the law. People get married under state law, federal law merely recognizes the marriage. A ceremony isn’t an actual marriage, gay or straight, because the federal government doesn’t issue marriage licenses. The Navy chaplians can choose to perform the ceremony for straight and gay couples, and the state can issue the license. It doesn’t matter who performs the ceremony, the federal government will not recognize the state issued license of a gay couple. there is nothing in a ceremony that the federal government can legally recognize, gay or straight, so the ceremony on federal property doesn’t violate DOMA. The religious ceremony does not confer any legal right, only the state issued license. the fact that marriage is a legally a civil, not religious, function is the reason gay people are winning in the courts.
J,
You make great points. Marriage is a religious rite that the state (generic) co-opted to make money. By making marriage a civil contract instead of a religious union, the state has violated the 1st Amendment and established itself as the authority in the rite of marriage. There are no religions, except Atheism, that recognise the state with such authority.
No attorney will touch that – not and have any hope for peace. Terrorism isn’t just for Muslims.
AndyFMF,
We can’t outsource chaplains for two reasons. The first is the legal aspect of it. Chaplains have authority as military officers that a contractor can’t legally have. Chaplains have access that a contractor can’t get. Second point is that it takes the services months to pay their bills (it takes the Army 8 months or more to pay its bills) – that’s a whole lot of contracted chaplains begging their flock for food and shelter until the dough rolls in.
I can’t speak of Navy chaplains, having only experience with one, but the Army chaplains (Christian and Jewish) with whom I’ve served were good, knew their business, and behaved professionally and as men of faith. Getting rid of them will have the same effect on our men and women as we’ve witnessed with other armies that are too grown up to believe in G-d: mass murder, genocide, rape and pillage. We don’t go there.
DADT was good to have in place, since the idiot in the WH got rid of it now the military will be opened up to all sorts of more BULLSHIT from these queers.