A decorated Army chaplain is facing what his attorneys are calling a “career-ending punishment” after he explained to a soldier that he could not conduct a marriage retreat that included same-sex couples.
Todd Starnes of Fox News reports a military investigation at Fort Bragg determined Chaplain Scott Squires should be disciplined for his failure to include a lesbian couple in the Strong Bonds Marriage Retreat. They determined he had discriminated against a soldier based on her sexual orientation.
Squires rescheduled the event to accommodate the lesbian couple with a chaplain who could oversee the retreat. But apparently – that was not good enough.
First Liberty Institute, says there is more to the story.
Chaplain Squires is endorsed by the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. The Southern Baptists forbid its chaplains from facilitating marriage retreats that include same-sex couples.
Had Chaplain Squires participated in the marriage retreat he would have risked losing his endorsement by the Southern Baptists. Likewise, the Army requires its chaplains to adhere to their endorsers’ rules and religious tenets.
First Liberty Institute attorney Mike Berry told Starnes on his radio program, “Chaplain Squires should not have his career ruined for following the rules of both his faith and the Army,”
Even more disturbing, the investigator found the chaplain had also committed discrimination by simply explaining his religious beliefs to the offended soldier.
As it now stands, Chaplain Squires is being punished by the Army for following the Army’s own regulations.