Navy Allows
Chaplains to Perform Same-Sex Unions
Monday, 09 May 2011 08:53 AM
The Office of the Chief of Navy Chaplains is
now allowing same-sex couples in the Navy to get married in Navy chapels by
Navy chaplains under condition that same-sex marriage is legal in the state
where the ceremony is to be performed, according to a report by
cnsnews.com.
Rear Admiral Mark L. Tidd,
the Chief of Navy Chaplains, noted via a directive to the field the historic
change now officially codified in a training manual, which had previously
proscribed same-sex marriages on federal property.
The admiral said the Navy "has concluded that, generally speaking, base
facility use is sexual orientation neutral.”
“If the base is located in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, then the
base facilities may be used to celebrate the marriage,” the admiral’s directive
states.
“Regarding chaplain participation, consistent with the tenets of his or her
religious organization, a chaplain may officiate a same-sex, civil marriage: if
it is conducted in accordance with the laws of the state which permits same-sex
marriages or union; and if the chaplain is, according to applicable state and
local laws, otherwise fully certified to officiate that state’s marriages,” the
directive concludes.