Tag Archives: homosexual

Blog: Clergy Not Required to Perform Same-Sex Marriage, Except Chaplains

Much ado was recently made about Supreme Court justices questioning whether clergy would face sanction if they refused to perform same-sex marriages. In short, the concern was dismissed out of hand.

Interestingly, Jay Bookman, blogging at the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, said the same thing — but he made a significant footnote [formatting original]:

Under the First Amendment, no one, with the possible exception of military chaplains**, can ever be required by government to conduct religious services that are contrary to their faith. That’s just elementary, and while I’m no fan of Scalia, I’m still surprised to see him offering objections so ill-informed that would be better suited to an email-chain than to Supreme Court debate.

Bookman’s footnote:  Read more

Chaplain Becomes CGO of the Year, Mikey Weinstein Target

US Air Force Chaplain (Capt) Sonny Hernandez was recently selected as the AFLCMC IMA CGO of the year.

Two days after the announcement, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein slammed the chaplain as “homophobic [and] anti-Semitic.”

Why Weinstein was monitoring the AFLCMC CGO ranking is a mystery. It’s possible he knew of Chaplain Hernandez from the chaplain’s time at USAFA, which was his last assignment until November of last year. Weinstein also has family in the Wright-Patterson area, which is where the 445th Airlift Wing is based and where the announcement would have been made.

Finally, Weinstein came to his conclusions about Chaplain Hernandez from viewing the publicly available sermons he gave to his home church. (As an IMA Reservist, the Chaplain’s primary job is civilian.)

Weinstein slams the chaplain for “putrid, bigoted Read more

Homosexual “Christian Embassy” Unlikely to Face Criticism

A few years ago, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein filed a complaint about a promotional video for Christian Embassy, a ministry that seeks to serve senior level government officials, including military leaders. The gist of the “problem” was that uniformed military officers appeared in the video speaking positively about the role of Christian Embassy in their lives.

The result was an investigation by the Inspector General that determined the officers improperly implied military endorsement of Christian Embassy because they appeared on camera, in uniform, and spoke highly of the organization.

While Weinstein was disappointed that his primary complaint had been ignored (he claimed the officers were illegally promoting religion, and the IG disagreed), he was pleased that they’d been found ‘guilty’ of something. He and his assistant Chris Rodda would continue to cite this case and the ‘wear of the uniform/endorsement’ mantra for the next several years. Each time, they made the case that a Christian could not speak of his faith in uniform, because to do so was to imply government endorsement.

In the intervening years, another organization has arisen that has discovered the power of the military uniform.

The American Military Partner Association (AMPA) has used uniformed military members to advocate for legislation as well as “endorse” Read more

Congressman Collins Backs Fired Navy Chaplain Modder

A variety of media outlets continue to cover the story of Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder, who was removed from his unit after complaints that he made offensive statements in counseling.

At the Daily Signal, Kelsey Harkness notes there are actually two chaplains facing sanction right now. Besides Modder, Army Chaplain (Capt) Joe Lawhorn was also punished for telling personal stories involving his faith; his story has faded somewhat from the press, but it is still ongoing.

Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the only U.S. congressman to also serve as an Air Force Reserve chaplain, believes the military has gone too far in punishing Modder and others like him.

“It’s First Amendment rights for a reason,” Collins told The Daily Signal in an exclusive interview. “Not because you agree with it.”

Rep Collins went further, repeating Read more

Linell Letendre Named USAFA Law Department Head (Video)

USAF LtCol Linell Letendre has been named as a new permanent professor to “lead the law department” for the US Air Force Academy:

“Lt. Col. Letendre’s selection for permanent professor indicates the trust placed in her by those who lead our nation,” said Brig. Gen. Andrew Armacost, the Academy’s dean of the faculty. “Her impeccable record of service and dedication to education will strengthen the Academy and nation as we strive to develop leaders of character.”

Ordinarily such a staffing decision hardly rates notice, much less an official press release, but the status of permanent professor at a military academy requires Senate approval and bestows a permanent rank of Colonel, making it somewhat notable.

Potentially more notable, however, are LtCol Letendre’s unique qualifications. Far from being an unknown JAG, Letendre has become a veritable “go to” legal officer in cases involving religion or homosexuality (or both).
LtCol Linell Letendre
In 2007, she and retired US Army Major David Fitzkee (also a USAFA law professor) co-authored a paper in the Air Force Law Review entitled “Religion in the Military: Navigating the Channel Between the Religion Clauses“. This paper was called a “definitive work” on the subject. As noted previously, Fitzkee wrote an abridged and updated version of this same article in 2012, and both works contained strong positive and strong negative statements on regarding military religious freedom.

Their paper was subsequently published again in Attitudes Aren’t Free, a collection put together by then-LtCol James Parco (an avowed supporter of Michael “Mikey” Weinstein and frequent critic of Christians in the US Air Force).

Letendre was also the legal advisor to US Army General Carter Ham while he was co-chair of the controversial Comprehensive Review Working Group tasked to assess the impact of repealing the policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Letendre’s advice Read more

Navy Issues Restraining Order against Chaplain Modder

In a rather surprising development, US Navy CAPT J.R. Fahs issued a “No Contact Order” (essentially, a restraining order) prohibiting Navy Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder from ministering to — or even communicating with — the Sailors he formerly served:

When a sailor in Modder’s previous unit unexpectedly died…Modder was about to reach out to the sailor’s grieving family when he was stopped by a member of the command.

He was slapped with a “no contact” order – the Navy’s version of a restraining order – banning him from providing counsel or ministering to any members of his unit.

The order also reportedly banned Chaplain Modder from even entering the base on the day of the memorial service.

Liberty Institute attorney Mike Berry said the Navy Read more

Commander Denies Chaplain’s Religious Accommodation

Chaplain (LtCmdr) Wes Modder was relieved of his duties for expressing, during private counseling sessions, beliefs consistent with his endorsing agency. He appealed the dismissal, and he also filed a formal request for religious accommodation, seeking the freedom to

discuss matters of faith, marriage, family, and human sexuality from a Biblical perspective when the issue is relevant to pastoral counseling.

Shockingly, his request was denied — sort of.  Navy CAPT J.R. Fahs wrote a rambling response (PDF) that addressed the reasoning behind firing Chaplain Modder but never actually said whether the Request for Religious Accommodation was approved or denied.  Rather, CAPT Fahs implied the request was unnecessary:  Read more

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