Military chaplains may perform same-sex marriages, even on military bases, in states where such ceremonies are allowed but will not be forced to do so, the Pentagon said Friday.
The decision ? which came in a memo from Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness ? threatens to reignite the contentious debate in Congress over gays and lesbians in the military. The issue had appeared settled just 10 days ago with the repeal of the ?don?t ask, don?t tell? policy that barred openly gay service members.
Continue ReadingConservative lawmakers who opposed the repeal of ?don?t ask, don?t tell? had forced the Navy to back down in April when Navy officials recommended allowing chaplains to perform same-sex marriages. On Friday, the same lawmakers immediately denounced the Pentagon?s decision, calling it illegal and saying they would move to block it.
?The Department of Defense has decided to put the White House?s liberal agenda ahead of following the law,? said Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.). ?The Defense of Marriage Act makes it clear that for the purposes of the federal government, marriage is defined as between one man and one woman. The use of federal property or federal employees to perform gay marriage ceremonies is a clear contravention of the law.?
The constitutionality of the 1996 law is in doubt after several court rulings against it, and the Obama administration announced in February that it would no longer defend DOMA against challenges. Lawyers for the House of Representatives have stepped in to defend the law, and the issue is eventually expected to reach the Supreme Court.
Akin, chairman of a House Armed Services subcommittee, was the sponsor of an amendment in the House-passed defense policy bill for fiscal 2012 that would bar same-sex marriages on military bases and prohibit chaplains or other military personnel from performing ceremonies that don?t comply with the definition of marriage under federal law.
The Senate is working on its own version of the bill that does not contain that prohibition.
The Pentagon did avoid another potentially controversial issue: recognition of same-sex marriage for the purpose of extending military benefits. The memo notes that a military chaplain?s participation in a same-sex marriage ?does not constitute an endorsement of the ceremony by [the] DoD.?
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