WASHINGTON — The US Navy has revoked its guidance allowing chaplains to conduct same-sex marriages in some states following outrage from Republican lawmakers and social conservatives.
The suspension came late Tuesday after opponents of same-sex military marriages claimed the move would violate a law prohibiting federal recognition of gay marriage. A copy of a memo revoking the guidance was obtained Wednesday by FOX News Channel.
“My memorandum of 13 April 2011 is hereby suspended until further notice pending additional legal and policy review and inter-Departmental coordination,” the memo, issued by the Chief of Chaplains Rear Admiral Mark L. Tidd, read.
Despite the revocation, military officials said the US Defense Department might still permit gay troops to marry in military chapels in states that recognize homosexual marriages after US President Barack Obama lifts a ban on openly-gay service members known as “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the Washington Post reported.
On Monday, the Navy Times reported that the navy would allow its military chaplains to perform gay marriages on naval bases located in US states where same-sex unions are legal.
The April 13 memo signed by Tidd said navy chaplains would have the option to officiate at a same-sex union if it agreed with their religious beliefs and the laws of the state.
But in the new memo dated May 10, Tidd reversed course and suspended his guidance.
Training programs about the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell” for US Navy chaplains and sailors would continue as scheduled, a navy spokeswoman said.
Details of the April 13 memo led to an immediate backlash in congress. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) released a letter signed by 62 other members of congress that called on the secretary of the navy to obey the Defense of Marriage Act.
“The law of the land is that the federal government defines marriage as between one man and one woman,” Akin wrote. “This new guidance from the navy clearly violates the law. While our President may not like this law, it is unbelievable that our navy would issue guidance that clearly violates this law.”