Military chaplains will be allowed to perform same-sex weddings on or off military bases, according to an announcement made today by the Pentagon. But they can decide not to perform the ceremony if it violates their personal beliefs.
The Stars and Stripes reports Clifford Stanley, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, wrote in a memo:
In one of two Pentagon memos obtained by the Wall Street Journal, Department of Defense general council Jeh Johnson, wrote that the military must not take sides either way:
These memos are a reversal of a reversal of Pentagon policy. The Stars and Stripes reports the DoD originally announced it would allow same-sex unions as part of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. But the Pentagon then reversed that decision after an outcry from conservatives who said that policy would violate the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
