THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Dozens of retired military chaplains say that serving both God and the U.S. armed forces will become impossible for chaplains whose faiths consider homosexuality a sin if gays are allowed to serve openly in the military.
If a chaplain preaches against homosexuality, he could conceivably be disciplined as a bigot under the military's non-discrimination policy, the retired chaplains say. The Pentagon, however, says chaplains' religious beliefs and their need to express them will be respected.
Clergy would be ineligible to serve as chaplains if their churches withdraw their endorsements, as some have threatened to do if "don't ask, don't tell" – the 1993 law that says the military cannot inquire into service members' sexual orientation and punish them for it as long as they keep it to themselves – ends.
Critics of allowing openly gay troops fear that clergy will leave the service or be forced to find other jobs in the military that don't involve their faiths.
"The bottom line is religious freedom," said retired Army Brig. Gen. Douglas Lee, one of 65 former chaplains who signed a letter urging President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates to keep "don't ask, don't tell". >>> | Friday, October 29, 2010
