ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - An attorney for the American Humanist Association says the organization will consider taking legal action after the U.S. Naval Academy denied a request for a humanist wedding ceremony in the academy's main chapel.
The group released a letter on Tuesday describing a request to use the chapel by Ensign Sean Cruz, a 2012 graduate.
Jennifer Erickson, an academy spokeswoman, says in an email that the Naval Academy Chapel is a religious venue used for Protestant and Catholic services since its dedication in 1908 due to permanent Christian architectural features. She also notes alternative venues are offered at the academy, including a nondenominational chapel.
But Bill Burgess, an attorney for the association, says the chapel is a much nicer facility, and people of other religions and the nonreligious shouldn't be excluded.
