Navy Backtracks On Same-Sex Marriage Guidelines For Chaplains
Just a day after announcing that chaplains would be permitted to perform wedding services on base in states where same-sex marriage is legal, the Navy is backing down from that plan and rescinding the guidelines:
The Navy has abruptly reversed its decision to allow chaplains to perform same-sex marriages once the military’s ban on openly gay service members is lifted, after dozens of House lawmakers complained.
Rear Adm. Mark Tidd, chief of Navy chaplains, issued a one-sentence memo Tuesday announcing that the earlier decision has been “suspended until further notice pending additional legal and policy review and inter-departmental coordination.”
A senior Navy official told Fox News the legal counsel determined the suspension would be necessary “until broader legal and policy questions are answered.”
About Doug Mataconis
Quick question. Pick a state where same-sex marriage is not legally recognized. Let’s say Texas.
If a church in Texas holds a same-sex marriage ceremony, but nobody ever issues a state-sanctioned marriage license, has any law been broken?
Of course not. But for some reason, people have trouble seeing the difference between religious marriage and legal marriage.
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“WE DECLINE TO ACT AS AGENTS OF THE STATE IN PERFORMING CIVIL MARRIAGES”
“APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY BY CONGREGATION”
“Resolution to refrain from performing the state right/legal contract aspects of marriage at First United Church of Tampa (UCC) while continuing to perform the spiritual/religious rite of marriage blessings for couples without regard to, or discrimination based upon, the sexual orientation or gender of the participants”
My church. I’m very proud of them.
http://ucctampabay.org/civilmarriages3.htm
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