CHAPLAIN ALLIANCE FOR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY August 24, 2016 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact CHAPLAIN ENDORSERS at info@chaplainalliance.org or call (571) 293-2427

Chaplains commend members of Congress for letter to House Armed Services Committee chairman

WASHINGTON — Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is expressing gratitude to the eight members of Congress who recently sent a letter to House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry concerning the Department of Defense policy permitting people who identify as transgendered to serve in the military.

"I commend these eight members of Congress who have expressed the concerns we have in common about the recent DoD policy change," said Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews, USA Retired, executive director of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. "Their letter correctly points out the need to respect the constitutionally protected freedoms of medical doctors who do not want to be forced to participate in medical procedures that violate their faith. The letter also accurately highlighted potential problems for military chaplains who hold a differing view of human sexuality."

In a recent conference call with chaplain endorsers, a senior Pentagon official outlined implications of the policy change. In that call, chaplain endorsers raised the need to respect the faith or moral convictions of chaplains and medical personnel. The request, to date, has garnered no action.

"Americans need to know the extreme implications of this policy," Crews said. "We need to know the costs for implementing it and how this change will impact the right of military personnel to live consistently with their faith while in uniform. That faith doesn't suddenly disappear when they put that uniform on."

Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is an organization of chaplain endorsers, the faith groups that provide chaplains for the U.S. military and other agencies needing chaplains. The endorsers in Chaplain Alliance speak for more than 2,600 chaplains serving the Armed Forces.

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