Homophobes Pressure Navy To Deny Rights

Yesterday I posted about the decision by the Navy's Chief of Chaplains to allow chaplains to perform legal marriages for same-sex couples (and to do it on Navy bases). It seemed to be the culmination of recent efforts to give gays/lesbians serving in the military rights equal to those of their heterosexual cohorts. But I spoke too soon.

It seems that the homophobes in the U.S. Congress swing a little more weight than I thought they did. The idea of homosexual soldiers and sailors having equal rights with heterosexual soldiers and sailors was just too much for these bigoted congressmen to take. They claimed that the action by the Navy was a violation of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- even though that act has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court (and there is some doubt as to whether it covered the military anyway).

Sadly, the Navy has backed down. They have "suspended" implementation of the new rules for chaplains. The Navy says it wants to do "a more thorough review of the legal decision" that would allow the chaplains to perform and bless the marriages of same-sex couples.

So once again gay and lesbian soldiers and sailors are put in the position of risking their lives to defend the rights and freedom of Americans while being denied those same rights and freedoms. These fundamentalist homophobes say they support religious freedom, but what they have done here is deny homosexuals the freedom to have a religious ceremony. Their version of religious freedom is to force other Americans to abide by their own religious beliefs.

Some people just cannot be happy enjoying equal rights. They must have rights that are superior to at least some other groups. For the christian fundamentalists, those groups are women and homosexuals -- both of whom they are determined to keep as second-class citizens. But they still claim to have the moral high ground. Unbelievable!