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WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Senators on Tuesday introduced legislation that would prohibit same-sex unions from being held on military bases.
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), introduced the Military Religious Freedom Act, which explicitly outlines how the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) should be applied to the Department of Defense.
Tech. Sgt. Erwynn Umali and Will Behrens in a civil union ceremony presided by a Navy chaplain at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in June 2012.
Specifically, the bill would prevent military chaplains from being forced to perform a marriage ceremony if the chaplain objects for reasons of conscience, and prohibit marriage or marriage-like ceremonies at military facilities that are not a union between one man and one woman.
“The Defense of Marriage Act remains law, and as policy changes are implemented by the Department of Defense, the statute must be followed,” Wicker said. “This legislation also protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains who are serving our nation in the Armed Forces.”
“President Obama and his administration are dismissing their responsibility to uphold the law of the land by unilaterally deeming DOMA unworthy of enforcement,” said Inhofe.
“At the same time, since the repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, they have begun to pressure military chaplains to fall in line with their liberal same-sex marriage agenda. This bill protects military chaplains from being forced to go against their conscience and religious beliefs in regard to this issue. This is something the chaplains that serve this country need and deserve,” Inhofe added.
In June, the first public same-sex civil union was performed at the U.S. Joint Base McGuire-Dix located near Lakehurst, N.J. A private commitment ceremony was held previously in May at Fort Polk in Louisiana, although civil unions nor same-sex marriages are legal in that state.
Last year, the Department of Defense authorized military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages in accordance with state law. The authorization allows military chaplains to participate in ceremonies on or off military bases in states that recognize same-sex marriage.
The Department of Justice stopped defending DOMA in federal court actions after a determination by both President Obama and U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder last spring.
Congressional GOP leaders, angered by what they labeled a blatant disregard for prescribed constitutional duties by the administration, replaced the Justice Department lawyers with a team of outside private lawyers paid for by the U.S. House of Representatives to continue to defend the statue in federal court actions.
A spokesperson for the administration Wednesday declined to comment on the proposed legislation.
Filed under: National Headlines
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Ban ALL weddings on military bases.
More sleaze from your neighborhood slime.
Jobs! Focus! Debt Limit! Focus! Off the Cliff! Focus!
Excuse me? Why not we prohibit STRAIGHT ceremonies on bases and see how YOU feel!
They want to ban same-sex ceremonies then they should ban straight as well.
Gonad obsessed idiots
Why am i not surprised?
don’t these hateful bastards have more important things to worry about.
So does this allow chaplains to refuse to marry black and interracial couples for reasons of conscience?
Get the f+ck over it GOP
Ban ALL marriage on military bases and see how the straight couples like it!
FUCK THE GOP!
Senators from Oklahoma and Mississippi. Just trying to score points from their bigoted, homophobic bases. Both states have horrible hum civil right historys.
blow it out your bu**hole GOP
What a couple of GOP dicks.
Which part of FIRST AMENDMENT cant they remember ?
From the same people who brought you Ban all Pagan/ Wiccan religious meetings on military bases.
now only if they would put that same energy into creating jobs…bigoted bullies that’s all they are.
So it is okay for gay and lesbians to lay down their lives defending America’s ideals and rights, but not to get married? Another example of how twisted the GOP is. Wanna turn the economy around? Put aside the basic human rights issue just for a for a moment. Allow gay marriage and just think. Do you have any idea how much money would be spent on these unions? They would be LAVISH, huge events! Helping the catering community, the venues, the floral industry. And the GIFTS! The money spent on wedding presents alone would pump insane amounts of cash into the economy. If you have trouble admitting that everyone has the right to happiness, equality, basic human rights, how about you think about the financial benefits to the economy.
Ditto ^ Let’s focus on matters that are truly important
The Grand Ole Pricks dont have nothing better to do
Gahd. Hate thre TOP
Why don’t they focus on real problems like creating jobs, reducing the deficit, and how crappy their party is to gays!
whatever happened to separation of church and state?
OMG (pun intended) Section 4-e, 4-h, and others already state that chaplains are not required to perform ceremonies or lead prayers that violate their personal tenets of faith. WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY SENATORS.
Jobs? The deficit? Is this the only thing Republiscum have to do? Can’t they EVER get their noses out of other people’s private lives and get to work on the business of the nation?
It truly boggles my mind how some people in our government can’t seem to make out the clear boundaries between a legally recognized marriage and a ceremony. Who cares if it is “marriage-like”? It has no legal standing and performing a ceremony breaks no laws whatsoever. If gay couples can’t have a ceremony on military grounds, then straight couples shouldn’t be able to either. Marriage under the law is LEGAL. The government doesn’t care if you’re married in a church, at the beach, on military grounds, or wherever. The only thing that matters to the government is if you sign the papers making it official. The bottom line is that regardless of if it is a straight couple or a gay couple, the ceremony itself has no legal standing. It’s pure discrimination to deny gay couples to hold a ceremony on state grounds while allowing other couples to do it.
I’ve never seen so many straight men obsessed with gay people.
They attack what they hate, they hate what they fear, they fear what they don’t understand. How hard is it for some people to understand love?
what are they afraid holding gay ceremonies well make the military look bad or something or do they really hold that much hatred for LGBT people who serve in the military right along side the straight people.
Gop = Nasty ugly bigots!
boo
Does the stupidity ever stop? Just let people get married, already! I’m tired of all the anti-homosexuality. Isn’t America supposed to be the land of the free? Stop with these stupid anti-living laws.
One of the many things that needs to be taken care of. GOP is one of them. Whatever their fucking problem is, it’s gonna cost them. Dearly. I’ve just about fucking had it with them. Not joking.
It’s wrong to ban these ceremonies on bases but chaplains should not be forced to officiate (sp?) them. Everyone has rights even right wingers.
Two senators = dorks
erg!
If gay men and women who are willing to die for their country cannot have the RIGHT to marry on base then straight military members should not be afforded that right either. This is just another example of how threatening the GOP is to everything America is SUPPOSE to stand for. I wonder how many of these GOP senators served in the military? I’m betting not many. Grow up America and vote in politicians who will be more concerned with repairing our economy and appalling lack of social programs instead of taking other Americans rights away.
Move on people!