The very first posting on Pedantic Political Ponderings was repudiating a response to the Pentagon authorizing military chaplains to perform same sex weddings if local and state laws allowed. Elaine Donnelly was one of several who made absurd claims that chaplains would be required to officiate at same sex weddings or that the chaplains would be leaving the military rather than have the religious beliefs compromised or other silly claims.
Today, ABC News reports that the military chaplains are comfortable with making individual decisions about whether to officiate at particular marriages (just like the decisions they would be making if not in the military). Here's a short quote from the article.
However, military chaplains contacted by ABC News say whatever
decisions they make about performing such unions will depend less on the
political arena and more on religious principles and personal
conscience.
“The Pentagon can issue a policy change concerning the performance of
same-gender ceremonies by chaplains. However, the Pentagon doesn’t
generate religion as such,” says Gary Pollitt, a spokesman for the
Military Chaplains Association, which represents 1,600 current and
retired military chaplains.
In an e-mail statement he adds, “A military chaplain conducts
religious ceremonies and rites in keeping with the canons [or beliefs,
doctrine, policies] of the religious faith group that endorses that
chaplain. Each faith group defines the parameters for religious rites
and the clergyperson’s individual discretion [if any] with those rites. ”
This sounds rather like what I wrote two weeks ago. Not a surprise. The Pentagon would neither want to alienate its chaplains by forcing them to perform ceremonies that they feel they should not perform nor does it want to violate the First Amendment. The policy on marriage for military chaplains simply makes sense.
Please forgive a repeat of my long term prediction:
The repeal of DADT and subsequent adjustments of military policy will
end up strengthening the United States military. When soldiers do not
need to hide who they are, they will be more confident fighters. When
soldiers are not making assumptions about their fellow soldiers, they
will be more confident fighters. The necessary social bonding of our
soldiers and sailors will enhance performance in the long run.
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