The U.S. Navy has revoked its guideline allowing chaplains to conduct same-sex marriages in some states after Republican lawmakers and social conservatives expressed outrage, according to the New York Post.
After the official repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," U.S. Navy chaplains were going to be able to perform weddings for same-sex couples in states where marriage equality has been legalized. However, opponents of same-sex military marriages said the move would violate a law banning federal recognition of gay marriage.
Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans, issued a statement about the revocation.
"At a time when the economy still needs attention, Osama Bin Laden was just killed, and revolution and conflict continue to rage across a fragile Middle East, having policy makers spend valuable and limited time on whether a few gay couples may or may not use a Navy facility for a private ceremony at some point in the future is just plain silly," said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and a former Army interrogator who was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
"The Navy was certainly within its right to establish this policy, and the services should not be subjected to distracting pressure from reactionaries simply because they seek to treat all personnel equally and fairly," he added.
Palm Center Director Aaron Belkin also issued a statement saying, in part, "Opponents of equal rights for LGBT people scored a temporary victory yesterday when they successfully pressured the Navy to suspend plans to allow chaplains to perform marriages for same-sex couples, when allowed by state law, in military chapels.
"Gay and lesbian tax dollars sustain the salaries of military chaplains and the upkeep of military chapels, but the politics of the moment overwhelmed the Navy's assessment of its own best interests."
According to its website, the center "is a research institute committed to sponsoring state-of-the-art scholarship to enhance the quality of public dialogue about critical and controversial issues of the day" concerning the issues of gender, sexuality and the military.