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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3526 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3526

    To amend title 10, United States Code, to protect the rights of 
 conscience of members of the Armed Forces and chaplains of members of 
               the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2012

Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To amend title 10, United States Code, to protect the rights of 
 conscience of members of the Armed Forces and chaplains of members of 
               the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Military Religious Freedom Act of 
2012''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
              FORCES AND CHAPLAINS OF SUCH MEMBERS.

    (a) Protection.--Chapter 53 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1034 the following new section:
``Sec. 1034a. Protection of rights of conscience of members of the 
              armed forces and chaplains of such members
    ``(a) Protection of Rights of Conscience.--The armed forces shall 
accommodate the conscience and sincerely held moral principles and 
religious beliefs of the members of the armed forces concerning the 
appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality and may not 
use such conscience, principles, or beliefs as the basis of any adverse 
personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, 
training, or assignment. Nothing in this subsection precludes 
disciplinary action for conduct that is proscribed by chapter 47 of 
this title (the Uniform Code of Military Justice).
    ``(b) Protection of Chaplains.--(1) For purposes of this 
subsection, a military chaplain is--
            ``(A) a certified religious leader or clergy of a faith 
        community who, after satisfying the professional and 
        educational requirements of the commissioning service, is 
        commissioned as an officer in the Chaplains Corps of one of the 
        branches of the armed forces; and
            ``(B) a representative of the faith group of the chaplain, 
        who remains accountable to the endorsing faith group for the 
        religious ministry involved to members of the armed forces, 
        to--
                    ``(i) provide for the religious and spiritual needs 
                of members of the armed forces of that faith group; and
                    ``(ii) facilitate the religious needs of members of 
                the armed forces of other faith groups.
    ``(2) No member of the armed forces may--
            ``(A) direct, order, or require a military chaplain to 
        perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function 
        that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or 
        religious beliefs of the chaplain, or contrary to the moral 
        principles and religious beliefs of the endorsing faith group 
        of the chaplain; or
            ``(B) discriminate or take any adverse personnel action 
        against a military chaplain, including denial of promotion, 
        schooling, training, or assignment, on the basis of the refusal 
        by the chaplain to comply with a direction, order, or 
        requirement prohibited by subparagraph (A).
    ``(c) Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense shall issue 
regulations implementing the protections afforded by this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 53 of such title is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 1034 the following new item:

``1034a. Protection of rights of conscience of members of the armed 
                            forces and chaplains of such members.''.

SEC. 3. USE OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS SITES FOR MARRIAGE CEREMONIES 
              OR MARRIAGE-LIKE CEREMONIES.

    A military installation or other property owned or rented by, or 
otherwise under the jurisdiction or control of, the Department of 
Defense may not be used to officiate, solemnize, or perform a marriage 
or marriage-like ceremony involving anything other than the union of 
one man with one woman.
                                 <all>
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