A Mississippi senator is co-sponsoring legislation that aims to protect military chaplains from being forced to perform same-sex "marriage" ceremonies or marriage-like ceremonies on military bases.
Roger Wicker (R) has joined colleague Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) in introducing the Military Religious Freedom Act -- legislation that explicitly outlines how the Defense of Marriage Act should be applied to the Department of Defense when it comes to chaplains and military facilities.
"We see that the DOD 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."
The Military Religious Freedom Act is designed to prevent military chaplains from being forced to perform a marriage ceremony to which they object for reasons of conscience. It also prohibits marriage or marriage-like ceremonies at military facilities that are not between one man and one woman.
"This bill would be a way to protect our chaplains and make sure that we don't run all of them out of the service simply because there's a group at the top that's got a radical agenda," the Mississippian adds.
With the Democrats in control of the Senate, Wicker knows the bill faces an uphill battle. But he believes it is important to introduce the legislation so that voters will see the difference between the two party platforms.