Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
On Sept. 30, the Department of Defense announced that same-sex “marriage” ceremonies may be conducted on military bases by military chaplains. This recent development, which follows the troubling decision to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to allow open homosexuals to serve in the military, raises significant concerns for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission as well as our chaplains.
Wednesday, the ERLC addressed these distressing developments and renewed its call to repeal these decisions in letters to House and Senate leadership. Reprinted below is the letter sent from ERLC President Richard Land to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). A PDF version is available here (134 KB). A personalized letter was also sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
October 12, 2011
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Eric Cantor
House Majority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
H-329, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
House Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
H-204, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, and Minority Leader Pelosi:
Following the recent repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT), the Department of Defense (DOD) announced September 30 that gay marriage ceremonies may be conducted on military bases by military chaplains. The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission strongly objects to this stunning announcement. We decry the Obama Administration’s actions to push its pro-homosexual agenda by targeting America’s armed forces. We urge that immediate action be taken to protect the religious freedom and rights of conscience of military chaplains who object to same-sex unions. We also insist that the Administration rescind this decision and that the federal government adopt a policy consistent with federal marriage laws.
On September 30, the Pentagon released two memos targeting the exclusivity of traditional marriage in the military. In the first memo, the Pentagon announced that decisions regarding the use of military facilities should be made on a “sexual-orientation neutral basis.” Alluding to the first memo, the second stated that military chaplains can participate in private weddings on or outside military bases, as long as participation does not violate his or her “religion or personal beliefs.” In effect, these two memos allow military bases to host homosexual weddings and chaplains to oversee them. Such a policy degrades both the tradition of high moral conduct in the military and the vital and exclusive role of traditional marriage in society and within our military.
This announcement from the Pentagon follows the controversial repeal of DADT. Many military leaders and personnel warned of the potential dangers of repealing DADT, citing its potential to create disunity and to decrease military readiness. This is especially disconcerting as our troops are engaged in wars. It is even more disconcerting that the DOD would follow its controversial DADT repeal with an aggressive push toward normalizing same-sex unions on American military bases and encouraging chaplains to participate in these ceremonies. In fact, the House-passed Defense authorization bill for FY2012 includes language prohibiting military chaplains from performing same-sex marriages and barring base chapels from hosting them. This language should be retained in any final Defense authorization bill. In 2010, Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) messengers reiterated their support for DADT. Having the backing of the Convention, the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission continues to proclaim that the military should not engage in highly controversial social engineering during war time.
This Pentagon announcement also violates the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which established that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. DOMA was passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority and signed into law by President Clinton. Under DOMA, the military cannot support same-sex marriages. Though the Obama Administration has chosen to stop defending DOMA, Congress and the American people continue to support it. This past summer, the SBC again expressed its support for DOMA and encouraged that it be defended. As such, we declare that the military should not be allowed to subvert recent, bipartisan, and publicly approved legislation by supporting and sponsoring same-sex marriage.
To reiterate, we decry the DOD’s decision, and we are outraged by the brashness of this attack on traditional marriage. We urge swift action to repeal these decisions. We also implore Congress to immediately improve the conscience protections for military chaplains in the wake of this decision. We join over 2,000 chaplains in requesting Congress to enact the “Right of Conscience” clause in the Revised Title 10 code to protect the religious beliefs of military chaplains.
Thank you for your attention to these concerns.
Sincerely,
Richard D. Land
cc: The Honorable Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee
The Honorable Adam Smith, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee
This story was used by permission of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.