West Point Hosts First-Ever Male Same-Sex Wedding in Military Academy's History

Two former male West Point cadets wed on Saturday at The United States Military Academy's Cadet Chapel. This was the first time two men have married at the house of worship in West Point's history.

The couple, 28 year old Larry Choate III, who graduated in 2009, and 27 year old Daniel Lennox, a member of the 2007 class, tied the knot in front of 20 guests, The Atlantic Wire reported.

West Point graduate Larry Lennox-Choate, left, and Daniel Lennox-Choate, leave church following their wedding ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, at the U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel (Credit: AP Photo/Jill Knight)

"It's maybe one more barrier that's pushed over a little bit, or maybe one more glass ceiling that's shattered that makes it easier for the next couple," Choate told The Associated Press on Friday.

This latest gay matrimony isn't the first time that a same-sex couple has tied the knot at the West Point Cadet Chapel.

Two previous same-sex weddings involving female couples were held late last year, however Choate's and Lennox's ceremony marked the first time two men married at the site.

Chaplain Cynthia Lindenmeyer presided over the ceremony. According to a biography on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services website, she is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.

Choate and Lennox are now out of the military. They did not know one another when they were cadets, but later met through a friend.

TheBlaze began covering this issue of gay weddings on military bases and outfits back in 2011. At that time, the Pentagon had issued a memo affirming the right of faith leaders to marry gay couples both on and off military bases. The proclamation also provided the right of chaplains to decline performing these weddings as well.

“A military chaplain may participate in or officiate any private ceremony, whether on or off a military installation, provided that the ceremony is not prohibited by applicable state and local law,” the memo read. “Further a chaplain is not required to participate in or officiate a private ceremony if doing so would be in variance with the tenets of his or her religion.”

(H/T: The Atlantic Wire)

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Featured image credit: AP

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