The Navy Says 'I Do' to Same-Sex Marriages

[IlovemyJesus]

Sickens me.....enough said.

[Godsavzu]

Post #6

No one can be forced. And anyway, the chaplains can still just refuse. They may be punished for it. God says we will be persecuted for our faith, but they can outright refuse.

:sad This was my original thought. Our pastor recently decided to stop officiating marriage ceremonies. From what I understand, he was having a difficult time expressing the seriousness of the "contract", in God's eyes, to young couples.

[MelAnne]

This hadn't been posted on here yet, and I thought it probably should, as it definitely pertains. The Navy has officially retracted it's order that chaplains may perform gay "marriages" using military chapels.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/10/navy-halts-allow-gay-unions-chaplains/


Under pressure from more than five dozen House lawmakers, the Navy late Tuesday abruptly reversed its decision that would have allowed chaplains to perform same-sex unions if the Pentagon decides to recognize openly gay military service later this year.

In a one-sentence memo obtained by The Associated Press, Rear Adm. Mark Tidd, chief of Navy chaplains, said his earlier decision has been "suspended until further notice pending additional legal and policy review and interdepartmental coordination."

The Navy said its lawyers wanted to do a more thorough review of the legal decision that allowed Navy chaplains to receive training to perform civil unions on military bases, but only in states where gay marriage is legal.

Military training to apply the new law allowing gays to serve openly began earlier this year and is expected to be completed by midsummer.

House members wrote to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to object to the Navy's initial ruling, saying the service was violating the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act by appearing to recognize and support same-sex marriages.

That law defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, and it also says states don't have to recognize gay marriages performed in other states where they are legal.

"We find it unconscionable that the United States Navy, a federal entity sworn to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States, believes it is their place alone to train and direct service members to violate federal law," said the lawmakers' letter, which was signed by 63 House members.

The lawmakers asked Mabus to direct the Navy to defend the Constitution, adding that individuals should not be allowed to pick and choose the laws they will follow.

The Navy's decision triggered an uproar, particularly since the Army and Air Force had not made similar decisions, and there was no overall Defense Department guidance issued on the same-sex union issue.

Navy officials had said Monday that they updated the training after questions came up about civil ceremonies for gay couples.

In earlier training guidelines issued by the Defense Department and the military services, same-sex marriage ceremonies were not mentioned and therefore not explicitly prohibited.

When first asked about the Navy's decision to allow the training, the Pentagon said the federal Defense of Marriage Act does not restrict the types of ceremonies a chaplain may perform in a chapel on a military base. And officials have repeatedly stressed that the military would not compel chaplains to perform a same-sex union if it was against their religious beliefs.

The military dust-up comes against the backdrop of the Obama administration's decision in February to no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Attorney General Eric Holder said at the time that President Barack Obama concluded that the law was unconstitutional.

The Pentagon has been moving carefully to implement the repeal of the 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops. Under the law passed and signed by the president in December, final implementation would go into effect 60 days after the president and his senior defense advisers certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' ability to fight.

Under the Navy's initial ruling, the civil union ceremonies would be allowed at military facilities such as chapel and catering centers, but only in states that already recognize same-sex unions.

And even if a marriage is performed, same-sex partners would not get any health, housing or other benefits that are provided to married couples involving a man and woman.

The Air Force and Army did not include discussion of same-sex marriage ceremonies in their training.

Under Pentagon guidelines, chaplains and other key military leaders were among the first tier of service members to be trained about the new law repealing the ban on openly gay service. Much of that instruction has been completed, so the Navy will send out updates to include the marriage ceremony provision.

Under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, service members face dismissal if they revealed they were gay.


My husband is a Navy chaplain, so we actually got this right from the Chief of Chaplains. Very frustrating. Just to clear up a few things, the military was not going to "force" chaplains to perform gay "marriages." However, statements such as this have a tendency to be used as "soft" orders in that if a chaplain is unwilling to perform said "marriages," he/she could be under a lot of fire for not doing them. Let's just say that something like this would likely make it even harder for a chaplain who is not on board with the all of this to be promoted, and if you're passed over twice for promotion, you're out. So it could be a career ender for some chaplains. Thank goodness it was rescinded! My husband has been saying from the start that if they ever tried to force him to do homosexual "weddings," or include them in his couples' communication courses, he would be getting out. This whole situation is very sticky, and the military will likely be losing a lot of very good chaplains if they ever do decide to pull a stunt such as the one the Chief of Chaplains just tried to pull. Christians in the military are not at all happy about DADT being repealed. As upset as many were about the repeal, this would have been the last straw for many more. Those who think this will not affect the military negatively have to think again. They will be losing many very capable, dedicated service members over this legislation.

As for not praying in Jesus' name, this same Chief of Chaplains was apparently involved in that fiasco as well. That also did not pan out, thank goodness. Chaplains are not restricted in who they can or cannot pray to, but they are strongly advised to take the setting/audience into consideration. A chaplain who is not "respectful" of different religions and different settings will not make it very far up the chain. However, a chaplain who is willing to use a more neutral "Almighty God" rather than "In Jesus' Name" or just plain "Amen" at secular/military events will make it farther. At religious events, chapel services, Bible studies, etc., they can pray to whomever they want, including Jesus. Edited to add: For most chaplains, this is a small price to pay if it means they can stay in and minister to our service members. It's one thing to tell someone not to pray in Jesus' Name, because you can always add that part silently in your head. But telling them to perform homosexual unions, albeit "softly" (as in, not a direct order), is a whole different ball game. If you are morally opposed to that, there's no way to work around it to please both God and your superiors.

[RaptureReady_7]

This hadn't been posted on here yet, and I thought it probably should, as it definitely pertains. The Navy has officially retracted it's order that chaplains may perform gay "marriages" using military chapels.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/10/navy-halts-allow-gay-unions-chaplains/



My husband is a Navy chaplain, so we actually got this right from the Chief of Chaplains. Very frustrating. Just to clear up a few things, the military was not going to "force" chaplains to perform gay "marriages." However, statements such as this have a tendency to be used as "soft" orders in that if a chaplain is unwilling to perform said "marriages," he/she could be under a lot of fire for not doing them. Let's just say that something like this would likely make it even harder for a chaplain who is not on board with the all of this to be promoted, and if you're passed over twice for promotion, you're out. So it could be a career ender for some chaplains. Thank goodness it was rescinded! My husband has been saying from the start that if they ever tried to force him to do homosexual "weddings," or include them in his couples' communication courses, he would be getting out. This whole situation is very sticky, and the military will likely be losing a lot of very good chaplains if they ever do decide to pull a stunt such as the one the Chief of Chaplains just tried to pull. Christians in the military are not at all happy about DADT being repealed. As upset as many were about the repeal, this would have been the last straw for many more. Those who think this will not affect the military negatively have to think again. They will be losing many very capable, dedicated service members over this legislation.

As for not praying in Jesus' name, this same Chief of Chaplains was apparently involved in that fiasco as well. That also did not pan out, thank goodness. Chaplains are not restricted in who they can or cannot pray to, but they are strongly advised to take the setting/audience into consideration. A chaplain who is not "respectful" of different religions and different settings will not make it very far up the chain. However, a chaplain who is willing to use a more neutral "Almighty God" rather than "In Jesus' Name" or just plain "Amen" at secular/military events will make it farther. At religious events, chapel services, Bible studies, etc., they can pray to whomever they want, including Jesus.

This is great. Thanks for the update. I know i am happy to see that the Navy has not completely lost it's collective mind, yet.

I am glad for your husband too. Sailors are a rare breed. We can be very Sailorish!!

Bravo Zulu!!

[Godsavzu]

This hadn't been posted on here yet, and I thought it probably should, as it definitely pertains. The Navy has officially retracted it's order that chaplains may perform gay "marriages" using military chapels.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/10/navy-halts-allow-gay-unions-chaplains/

Praise the Lord!

My husband is a Navy chaplain, so we actually got this right from the Chief of Chaplains. Very frustrating. Just to clear up a few things, the military was not going to "force" chaplains to perform gay "marriages." However, statements such as this have a tendency to be used as "soft" orders in that if a chaplain is unwilling to perform said "marriages," he/she could be under a lot of fire for not doing them. Let's just say that something like this would likely make it even harder for a chaplain who is not on board with the all of this to be promoted, and if you're passed over twice for promotion, you're out. So it could be a career ender for some chaplains. Thank goodness it was rescinded! My husband has been saying from the start that if they ever tried to force him to do homosexual "weddings," or include them in his couples' communication courses, he would be getting out. This whole situation is very sticky, and the military will likely be losing a lot of very good chaplains if they ever do decide to pull a stunt such as the one the Chief of Chaplains just tried to pull. Christians in the military are not at all happy about DADT being repealed. As upset as many were about the repeal, this would have been the last straw for many more. Those who think this will not affect the military negatively have to think again. They will be losing many very capable, dedicated service members over this legislation.

As for not praying in Jesus' name, this same Chief of Chaplains was apparently involved in that fiasco as well. That also did not pan out, thank goodness. Chaplains are not restricted in who they can or cannot pray to, but they are strongly advised to take the setting/audience into consideration. A chaplain who is not "respectful" of different religions and different settings will not make it very far up the chain. However, a chaplain who is willing to use a more neutral "Almighty God" rather than "In Jesus' Name" or just plain "Amen" at secular/military events will make it farther. At religious events, chapel services, Bible studies, etc., they can pray to whomever they want, including Jesus. Edited to add: For most chaplains, this is a small price to pay if it means they can stay in and minister to our service members. It's one thing to tell someone not to pray in Jesus' Name, because you can always add that part silently in your head. But telling them to perform homosexual unions, albeit "softly" (as in, not a direct order), is a whole different ball game. If you are morally opposed to that, there's no way to work around it to please both God and your superiors.

Thanking God that this has ended, but I'm afraid they have opened another "can of worms". It's so heartbreaking to see the moral decay of our society.