In an amendment to the 2013 Defense Appropriations bill, the U.S. House voted overwhelmingly to force President Obama's Pentagon to abide by the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and thus bar same-sex marriages on military bases.
President Obama has declared DOMA to be unconstitutional and ordered his Department of Justice to shepherd its demise through the federal justice system.
For background, read Pentagon Celebrates Sexual Deviancy Down Below and also read No Freedom of Religion for Chaplains, Say Obama & Dems and read the saga of President Obama's War on Marriage via Judges
UPDATE 12/1/12: Lesbians "married" by Chaplain at West Point Military Academy's Cadet Chapel
UPDATE 9/11/12: Senators Jim Inhofe and Roger Wicker introduce similar bill in Senate called the Military Religious Freedom Act
-- From "House votes to prevent violations of Defense of Marriage Act" by Pete Kasperowicz, The Hill 7/19/12
The amendment, from Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), was approved 247-166, one of dozens of amendments the House was considering before approving the entire bill late Thursday night. The amendment was supported by 17 Democrats, and just five Republicans opposed it.
King said the language, similar versions of which have passed the House before, is needed because of President Obama's growing support for same-sex marriage. King said that support is permeating the federal government.
DOD issued memos last year saying certain military facilities might be used for same-sex marriage, and that military chaplains may officiate in same-sex marriages. King said those policy changes violate DOMA, under which the federal government recognizes marriage as being between a man and a woman.
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From "King tries to ban gay marriages on military bases" by Kate Nocera, Politico 7/19/12
The Iowa Republican [Steve King] argued that President Barack Obama and the Secretary of Defense were “contravening” the Defense of Marriage Act by allowing military chaplains to perform same-sex marriages on bases.
King said a directive from the Secretary of Defense that said “a military chaplain may officiate any private ceremony on or off a military installation” was “not just permission that’s implied encouragement to conduct same-sex marriages on our military bases conducted by our chaplains presumably who are all under the payroll of the U.S. government.”
“The Defense of Marriage Act means this: Marriage means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife. And the word ‘spouse’ only refers to a member of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. Pretty simple statute being contravened by the president of the United States as exercised through the Secretary of Defense,” he said. “This amendment prohibits the use of military facilities or the pay of military chaplains for being used to contravene the defense of marriage act.”
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From "House passes amendment that would ban same-sex marriages on military bases" by Natalie Littlefield, The Capitol Column 7/20/12
. . . The amendment, which was introduced by Republican Congressman Steve King from Iowa, requires that no money spent on the military will be used to “contravene” the Defense of Marriage Act.
[Rep. King said,] “. . . the Obama administration has allowed same sex marriages to occur on military bases. These marriages violate the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). My amendment prohibits the use of both military funds and facilities for same-sex marriages. DOMA was passed by overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate and signed by President Clinton in 1996 and has been the law of the land since that time. But President Obama has ignored it. My amendment is a much needed solution to a problem started by an administration that’s prone to ignoring the law – and the American people are through with the law taking a back seat to the President’s political whims.”
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