Listen to this articleThe U.S. Navy did an abrupt about-face on a policy that would have allowed gay couples to be married by Navy chaplains after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is repealed.
In a statement released on Tuesday, chief Navy Chaplain Mark Tidd reversed the previous instructions he had issued and said the directive was, “suspended until further notice pending additional legal and policy review and interdepartmental coordination.”
The policy change comes after pressure from more than 60 Congressional Republicans who protested the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the marriage policy.
“Offering up federal facilities and federal employees for same-sex marriages violates DOMA, which is still the law of the land and binds our military, including chaplains,” the congress members said in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy.
Rep. Todd Akin, R-Calif., is introducing legislation that would ban all Pentagon facilities and employees from being used in marriage ceremonies not recognized under DOMA. The so-called Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as between one man and one woman only.
