Amendment to Block Same-Sex Marriages by the Military?

[M.D. Rawlings]

No Comment From Republican Leader on Amendment to Block Same-Sex Marriages by the Military
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
By Patrick Ryan
CNSNEWS.COM

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he supports the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) but "hasn't given any thought" yet as to whether it should apply to the U.S. military across the board. And concerning a House amendment to the Defense reauthorization bill that would prohibit military chaplains from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, McConnell’s office said he "hasn’t had a chance to look at the details" of the bill.

LINK

 

[rightwinger]

Don't they have anything better to do with their time?

 

[CountofTuscany]

Don't they have anything better to do with their time?

I'd prefer they waste their time on crap like this. It will go nowhere and it will keep them occupied and from screwing up more important issues.

 

[The Rabbi]

No Comment From Republican Leader on Amendment to Block Same-Sex Marriages by the Military
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
By Patrick Ryan
CNSNEWS.COM

(CNSNews.com) – Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he supports the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) but "hasn't given any thought" yet as to whether it should apply to the U.S. military across the board. And concerning a House amendment to the Defense reauthorization bill that would prohibit military chaplains from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, McConnell’s office said he "hasn’t had a chance to look at the details" of the bill.

LINK

A news story about a non-event? Say it aint so.

 

[waltky]

Chaplains won't be forced to go against religious beliefs...

Senate passes measure allowing military chaplains to decline performing same-sex marriages
December 01, 2011 | Military chaplains could decline to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies under a measure approved this week by the Senate.

The amendment, proposed by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., was added Wednesday to the massive, must-pass defense spending bill. The Senate approved the spending bill Thursday night by a vote of 93-7. The chaplain proposal comes after the Pentagon in September authorized chaplains to perform the ceremonies -- as long as it's allowed by state law -- as the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy banning gays from serving openly in the military took effect. Wicker said the proposal would allow chaplains to "maintain the freedom of conscience necessary to serve both their nation and their religion without conflict." "Protections for military chaplains should be guaranteed in any policy changes being implemented," Wicker said in a statement.

But Wicker's proposal still has to be reconciled with a competing proposal on military chaplains in the House-passed bill. That proposal, sponsored by Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., was aimed at prohibiting chaplains from performing the ceremonies on bases no matter what the state laws say. Huelskamp's amendment presumably would achieve that by blocking funding for chaplain training. At the time, the Navy had recently issued, then rescinded, a decision allowing chaplains to perform same-sex marriages. Gay advocacy groups have lambasted the Huelskamp amendment for trying to slow down the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal implementation. But once the repeal took effect, the Pentagon issued a broader decision anyway allowing the ceremonies on and off base in states where it's legal.

Huelskamp offered a qualified endorsement of Wicker's latest military chaplain proposal in a statement to FoxNews.com. "I am comfortable with it even though the Obama administration will say it is not necessary. But, I would like to see stronger protections of chaplains' freedoms to preach and counsel as they see fit," he said Thursday. Both chambers would have to agree to the same policy in order for the entire defense bill to pass Congress. While Wicker's proposal comes in the context of the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal, the amendment itself would allow military chaplains to decline to perform any marriage "as a matter of conscience or moral principle."

Read more: Senate Backs Proposal To Let Military Chaplains Decline Performing Same-Sex Marriages | Fox News

 

[Katzndogz]

How awful that Chaplains will be afforded the freedom to practice their religion.

 

[Dragon]

No state law will require religious bodies to perform same-sex marriages. If one did, it would violate the First Amendment and be struck down by the courts. All same-sex marriages will be performed either by civil authorities or by religious bodies that do so voluntarily.

This is a non-issue.

 

[whitehall]

Just make it clear that it isn't an amendment to the US Constitution. The amendment would be added to the Military appropriations bill.

 

[jaffeh]

Marriage is a legal term WAY more than a moral term.

If it were just moral, moral people would stick to the rules, and there would be no fifty or sixty something percent divorce rate...among people, men and women, who march down the aisle in dresses and tuxes that cost enough to support third world countries for a year...and then split in a FEW months, years.

It's a legal issue. Children. Insurance. Rights to make medical decisions. Rights to keep property.

People who have lived together, bought property together, gone to jobs together for decades, obeyed all laws and even have loved and nurtured kids, ARE married in every way. Why should they NOT have rights that heterosexual people doing the same things do?

I'm not gay. I can't even fathom sex with another woman. And aggressive, in your face homosexuality pisses me off. I don't want to see it. I also don't want to see overt heterosexuality. '

But legalities, well, I think partner rights are important.

 

[whitehall]

The amendment to the Military appropriations bill would only affect members of the Military. It's a tactic often used by radical democrats against a republican president because they can demagogue the issue with a charge that the president refused to sign a Military appropriations bill. A left wing radical democrat senator named Bollings once inserted an amendment into the Military appropriations bill that prevent the president from using the Military to combat communist takeovers in Central America. It led to the "Iran Contra" circus.