Rick Santorum told a Value Voters Summit audience this morning that President Obama has instructed military chaplains to break the law. Santorum also claimed Obama is forcing the chaplains to marry same-sex couples. During a speech in which the failed Pennsylvania Senator said voters should “look at who candidates lay down with at night,†when determining whom to vote for, Santorum referred to a Department of Defense memo and twisted it.
READ:Â For Santorum Gays In The Military Reveals Commander In Chief Inadequacy
Zack Ford at Think Progress offers this transcript and video, and the actual memo:
SANTORUM: The Defense of Marriage Act. The President of the United States won’t even defend the law in court. An abomination! And worse than that, just recently, he has instructed his military chaplains to marry people in direct contravention — marry gays and lesbians — in direct contravention to the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage in federal law as between a man and a woman. So not only did the President not defend the law, he has now instructed people in the military to break the law.
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DOD Memo:
A military chaplain may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law. Further, a chaplain is not required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would be in variance with the tenets of his or her religion or personal beliefs. Finally, a military chaplain’s participation in a private ceremony does not constitute an endorsement of the ceremony by DoD.
Last month, in an interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan, Santorum said, “Saying the Church is bigoted because it holds that opinion that is biblically-​based, I think is in itself an act of bigotry.â€