Christianst Organization Seeks Ban on Military Gay Weddings

The Christofascists at the Alliance Defense Fund are acting as if someone peed in their Cheerios over the possibility that military chaplains might be allowed to participate in same marriages in states are legal. For such self-congratulatory Christians - using the term Christian loosely, of course, since hate seems to be the principal characteristic of their dogma - freedom of religion applies to no one but themselves. Not surprisingly, political whores in the GOP are leaping to assist the haters in trying to enact legislation which would trample on the religious freedom rights of LGBT servicemembers and religious denominations which allow gay marriage. It's unfortunately, more of the growing trend of Christianists demanding special rights that trump the rights of all others. The Washington Post looks at the situation. Frankly, I think a better solution is simply to disband the chaplain corps completely and allow servicemembers who are so inclined to find religious providers off base. The military needs to get out of the business of religion completely. Here are some highlights from the Post story:
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Conservative legal activists and Christian leaders said Thursday that they will sue on behalf of military chaplains if the Senate does not pass a Republican version of the annual Pentagon policy bill that includes language barring Defense Department employees from participating in same-sex marriage ceremonies.
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Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) introduced the provision this month in response to guidance issued in April to Navy chaplains that said they would be permitted to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies at military chapels in states that recognize gay marriage once the ban on gays in the military officially ends.
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But Pentagon policies regarding service members’ individual expression and the free exercise of religion already exist, Defense Department spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said. “There will be no changes,” Lainez said in an e-mail. “In today’s military, people of different moral and religious values work, live and fight together; this is possible because they treat each other with dignity and respect.”
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Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said “chaplains and service members are secure and protected,” adding that any effort to further protect chaplains is “another desperate end run” by social conservatives.
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Austin Nimocks, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said his conservative legal organization would sue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary to ensure that federal law — instead of the Pentagon personnel policy — represents the group’s position.
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“If the Senate does not follow the House and protect chaplains and service members, we have no doubt that legal action will be required,” Nimocks said Thursday at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
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Bishop John Neal, a retired U.S. Army colonel who leads the International Communion of Evangelical Churches, warned that allowing military participation in gay weddings could compel socially conservative chaplains and troops to leave the military.
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My advice? Let the Christofascists leave the military. The military is supposed to support and defend the U. S. Constitution first and foremost. If these religious extremists cannot put aside their extremism, then they need to get out of the military. Maybe court martialing some of them would not be amiss either.