Chaplain groups: Court went too far in striking down 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Brief filed by ADF attorneys asks 9th Circuit to reverse district judge, allow legislative, military scrutiny to continue
Monday, Mar 14, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO — Several chaplaincy groups are urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to reverse a district judge’s decision to strike down part of a federal military readiness law that prohibited openly practiced homosexual behavior. The friend-of-the-court brief, filed by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys, explains that the actions of the previous, Democrat-controlled session of Congress regarding the law do not mean the district court was justified in attempting to dismantle it judicially.
“The First Amendment protected rights of the troops who defend those rights for the rest of us should be non-negotiable. Congress made a very bad policy choice by approving the imposition of homosexual and bisexual behavior on the military, but the results will be even worse if it is done with the inflexible force of an unconstitutional court order,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg. “Every federal appellate court to rule on the constitutionality of this law has upheld it, protecting both the military and the religious liberty of its members. The district court should have done the same.”
The brief notes that the 111th Congress’s action on the law, 10 U.S.C. § 654, “did not refute Congress’s prior findings supporting it and leaves it in effect until military leadership certifies to the President that repeal will not cause the harms identified in those findings. Given that congressional hearings are being scheduled to revisit the repeal decision, it is possible that those findings may remain in effect.”
ADF attorneys filed the brief on March 4 in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America on behalf of the Church of God of Prophecy Chaplaincy Ministries, the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, Grace Churches International, the International Association of Evangelical Chaplains, the International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, Ministry to the Armed Forces of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the National Association of Evangelicals Chaplains Commission, and the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel.
Arthur Schulcz, counsel for the International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, helped draft the brief.
Numerous high-level retired chaplains have expressed grave concerns over what endorsing open homosexual behavior in the military will mean for service members’ and chaplains’ religious liberty.
“Already, their concerns have been borne out,” Blomberg explained. “Newly released training materials for military chaplains are encouraging chaplains with moral objections to dismantling the policy to see this time as an ‘opportunity for vocational reflection.’ That basically means, conform or get out.”
“The First Amendment protected rights of the troops who defend those rights for the rest of us should be non-negotiable. Congress made a very bad policy choice by approving the imposition of homosexual and bisexual behavior on the military, but the results will be even worse if it is done with the inflexible force of an unconstitutional court order,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg. “Every federal appellate court to rule on the constitutionality of this law has upheld it, protecting both the military and the religious liberty of its members. The district court should have done the same.”
The brief notes that the 111th Congress’s action on the law, 10 U.S.C. § 654, “did not refute Congress’s prior findings supporting it and leaves it in effect until military leadership certifies to the President that repeal will not cause the harms identified in those findings. Given that congressional hearings are being scheduled to revisit the repeal decision, it is possible that those findings may remain in effect.”
ADF attorneys filed the brief on March 4 in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America on behalf of the Church of God of Prophecy Chaplaincy Ministries, the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, Grace Churches International, the International Association of Evangelical Chaplains, the International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, Ministry to the Armed Forces of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the National Association of Evangelicals Chaplains Commission, and the Presbyterian and Reformed Joint Commission on Chaplains and Military Personnel.
Arthur Schulcz, counsel for the International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, helped draft the brief.
Numerous high-level retired chaplains have expressed grave concerns over what endorsing open homosexual behavior in the military will mean for service members’ and chaplains’ religious liberty.
“Already, their concerns have been borne out,” Blomberg explained. “Newly released training materials for military chaplains are encouraging chaplains with moral objections to dismantling the policy to see this time as an ‘opportunity for vocational reflection.’ That basically means, conform or get out.”
- Pronunciation guide: Blomberg (BLAHM’-burg)
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.