House Votes to Protect Religious Liberty in the Military, Uphold DOMA

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Jul 08, 2011, 04:02 ET

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council (FRC) praised today's bipartisan majority approval in the U.S. House of Representatives of Rep. Tim Huelskamp's (R-KS) amendment to the 2012 defense appropriations bill that would block same-sex weddings on Navy bases, since this would be a direct violation of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman for all federal purposes.

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Of the vote FRC President Tony Perkins, a Marine Corps veteran, said:

"Opening the military to same-sex weddings would not only violate federal law but also seriously threaten the religious liberty of military chaplains. Military chaplains would fall into jeopardy if the Navy decides to enforce its referral policy in which any chaplain declining to perform a same-sex wedding would be required to find someone who would perform the wedding. A referral order of this kind could very well drive many chaplains out of the military altogether.

"I applaud U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp and the bipartisan majority for voting to protect religious liberty while reinforcing federal law that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman."

SOURCE Family Research Council