In the wake of Saturday's Senate vote to repeal the military's ban against open homosexual expression in the military, a conservative legal group is warning that the religious liberty of Christian chaplains and Service members may be in jeopardy.
By a vote of 65-to 31, the Senate agreed on Saturday to do away with the 17-year old "don't ask don't tell" policy on openly gay troops and sent President Barack Obama legislation to overturn the Clinton-era policy. Eight Republicans joined with Democrats to eliminate the ban.
Obama is expected to sign the bill into law next week.
Once the change is applied, which could take several months, it will mean that for the first time in American history, homosexuals will be openly accepted by the armed forces and can display their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out.
The conservative legal group, Alliance Defense Fund, issued a statement after the vote saying "The Senate's cave-in to pressure from activists to impose homosexual behavior on our military will place our troops' religious liberties in unprecedented jeopardy. Indeed, the first official casualty of this hurried vote may well be the religious freedom of chaplains and Service members." ADF Litigation Counsel, Daniel Blomberg, went on to say " no Americans, and especially not our troops, should be forced to abandon their religious beliefs."
The ADF says it stands ready to defend Service members if they are ever unconstitutionally required to choose between "serving their country or obeying their God as a result of this damaging policy decision."
According to the Associated Press, Sen. John McCain led the opposition during the Senate debate. Speaking on the Senate floor minutes before a crucial test vote, the Arizona Republican acknowledged he couldn't stop the bill. He blamed elite liberals with no military experience for pushing their social agenda on troops during wartime.
"They will do what is asked of them," McCain said of service members. "But don't think there won't be a great cost."
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