Former Navy chaplain: ‘Gay equal military benefits will lead to heterophobia’

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a white background.

A former Navy chaplain who was disgraced by the military for his role in a protest in 2006 has criticised the Pentagon’s announcement that it may extend some equal benefits to same-sex partners of gay service members.

Responding to recent news, Gordon Klingenschmitt PhD argued that it would lead to “discrimination against heterosexuals”, and that gay rights advocates were “heterophobic”.

Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, is set to extend some benefits, a decision which comes sixteen months after the repeal of the Pentagon’s ban on openly gay service. The final decision on which benefits would be offered has not been confirmed.

Speaking with OneNewsNow, an affiliate of the American Family Association, Mr Klingenschmitt, who now runs The Pray In Jesus Name Project, said that “this is not equality.”

“This is now discrimination against heterosexuals, because when I was dating my girlfriend — even when she was engaged to be married to me — she was not allowed to enter the commissary or even get on the military base until we were legally married,” he said.

He criticised the moves in light of the US Defense Department’s upcoming budget cuts.

“When [Leon Panetta] talks about sequester and cutting the Pentagon budget by 22 percent, apparently those cuts don’t apply to homosexuals, because they’re getting bonus pay and more benefits when all the rest of our troops are getting less benefits, less armor, less weapons and less ability to fight wars,” he said, reports RightWingWatch.

He also blamed the election, and re-election of President Barack Obama, as the ultimate reason for the “discrimination”.

He previously said that Republican politician Newt Gingrich was pandering to “homosexual sin” and tempted by the devil with his acceptance of same-sex marriage.

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments