Will There Be Gay Weddings on MoD Bases?





Same-sex marriages could soon be allowed on Ministry of Defence bases.

The Guardian reported that Defence Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has announced a pilot project to “explore registering Ministry of Defence” sites for civil marriages and partnerships; this includes same-sex unions”. 

There is concern that serving LGBT members in the armed services are not being fairly represented.

The problem is:

Military chapels are owned by the MoD.

But the chaplains in the MoD chapels are put there by the Sending Churches.  

A number of these Sending Churches are, however, exempt from performing same-sex marriages. 

The Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, for example. 

The pilot investigation is likely to recommend that MoD chapels are made available to LGBT personnel for civil partnerships and marriages. 

However, the Defence Secretary has already said that no religious organisation will be forced into performing same-sex ceremonies. 

There are currently 190 MoD chapels in the UK.

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