U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) have introduced the Military Religious Freedom Act (S.3526). The Wicker-Inhofe legislation explicitly outlines how the Defense of Marriage Act should be applied to the Department of Defense.
Specifically, the bill would (1) prevent military chaplains from being forced to perform a marriage ceremony if the chaplain objects for reasons of conscience and (2) prohibit marriage or marriage-like ceremonies at military facilities that are not a union between one man and one woman.
"We see that the Department of Defense approved in May of this year a same-sex marriage celebration in a military chapel [at] Fort Polk, Louisiana," Wicker notes. "DOD also proclaimed June as 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month.' So, this DOD under President Obama is really, really pushing hard on a radical pro-homosexual agenda."
Last year, the Department of Defense authorized military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages in accordance with state law. The authorization allows military chaplains to participate in ceremonies on or off military bases in states that recognize same-sex marriage.
