Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Military Chaplain Group Files Brief Opposing DADT

Frankly, it is long overdue for "good" Christians, if you will to get off their butts, and started speaking out against the constant narrative of hate and intolerance which is the principal message one hears coming from the lips of alleged Christians. They need to prove that professional hate merchants such as Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins, Bryan Fischer, et al, are not today's face of Christianity. I've made this argument before, yet too many "good" Christians refuse to counter the haters. That's why I belief it's a great thing that the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, which is led by retired military chaplains, has filed an amicus brief in the Log Cabin Republicans v. United States case. We truly need a high court ruling striking down DADT as unconstitutional once and for all. The brief also makes the point that DADT tramples on the religious freedoms of non-gay hating Christians and tolerant denominations. In short, it's time to end the enshrinement of one toxic form of religious belief in the laws. Here are some highlights from The Advocate on the group's court filing:
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A group of military chaplains banded together Monday, informing federal courts that the law barring gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members from serving openly is "offensive to many religious organizations."
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The Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, which is led by retired military chaplains, sent an amicus brief to the ninth circuit court of appeals Monday in support of the Log Cabin Republicans' lawsuit against the federal government challenging "don't ask, don't tell." This behind-the-scenes organization is now going public to counter the arguments from others in the religious community who are against repeal.
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According to a statement from the group issued Tuesday, maintaining "don't ask, don't tell" would prevent "military chaplains from ministering to the needs of service members whose faith communities are welcoming and affirming to gays and lesbians."
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“The right of anti-gay chaplains to preach their beliefs within their denominations is not being abridged,” chaplain Paul Dodd, the forum's cochair, said in a statement Monday. “But more importantly, military chaplains are trained to be pluralistic. They must respect the rights of others to hold and practice religious and moral values different from their own.”
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The last paragraph quoted gets to the issue of the threat posed by Christianists - they want their views and only their views respected and given in effect special rights. In the view of Christianists, everyone else can go f*ck themselves. This mind set is directly opposed to the freedom of religion afforded to ALL under the U.S. Constitution.

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