‘Right of conscience’ sought for chaplains
Chad Groening
A Mississippi senator has successfully inserted into the Defense Authorization Bill an amendment that would prevent military chaplains from being forced to perform same-gender “weddings.”
The Senate Defense Authorization Bill, passed last week on an overwhelming 93-7 vote, now goes to conference committee to mesh with the House version. Many amendments were inserted into the legislation, including one by Senator Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) that would allow chaplains in the armed forces to maintain their freedom of conscience when it comes to performing same-sex “marriages.”
In an interview Thursday on American Family Radio, Wicker said while he completely opposes same-sex marriages, this was the best he could do. “I really disapprove of this whole trend, but my goodness now we’ve got several states that now have made same-sex marriage legal,” he stated. “I wish that weren’t the case.”
Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, tells OneNewsNow he is not convinced the amendment will completely protect chaplains from reprisals if they choose not to perform homosexual weddings.
“We know that there are even some chaplains who come from some denominations that have embraced same-sex marriage,” he explains. “And if those chaplains serve in a supervisory position, they could still make life difficult for, say, a junior chaplain who has strong biblical views.”
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