Gay Weddings in the Military
Gay Weddings in the Military
June 15, 2005Posted By weddings
More articles on the Weddings topic: Wedding News
In the Canadian Army, the first gay couple has been married. The Canadian Defense Department issued guidelines allowing for Gay Weddings over two years ago, and has allowed gays in the military for just over 10 years.
The couple chooses to remain anonymous. They were married on the Greenwood Canadian Forces Base in front of 45 friends and fellow servicemen. They held their ceremony at a military chapel hoping to encourage others to step forward and make their vows official.
The couple are both in their late 30's. They went through a marriage preparation course in accordance with the guidelines and searched far and long for a minister willing to conduct the service. The local chapel minister was not eligible to preside over the ceremony. They say that there was no resistance from military officials prior to the wedding.
This is a big change for the Canadian Military, which through the early 1990's considered homosexuality as a mental defect and cause for release.
By contrast, the US military still has guidelines and policies in place to discriminate against gays, but allow the employment of gays under a "Don't Ask" policy.
