Veterans’ News From The Farmingdale VFW
The nation’s top religious liberty attorneys launched a campaign to stop a growing assault on freedom of religion in the U.S. military. Anti-faith policies and appointments of secular officials in the military have coincided with incidents such as these:
- A 19-year Air Force combat veteran was relieved of duty and threatened with court-martial because he would not agree with his commander on her beliefs concerning same-sex marriage.
- Troops were warned by military superiors that some Christians are “extremist” and were pressured not to support or donate to a popular ministry.
- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs outlawed the words “God” and “God bless you” at miltary funerals at national cemeteries.
“These are not rare cases, “ says Kelly Shackelford, an award-winning constitutional attorney who is the president and CEO of First Liberty Institute. “They are part of a systematic and growing agenda.”
400 Christians in Jail?: The Pentagon extended an invitation to attorney Michael Weinstein—named one of the “100 Most Influential People in the U.S. Defense” by Defense News to meet with military officials in Washington. Weinstein has:
- Bullied the Air Force Academy into removing “So help me God” from a sign that had hung for decades, offering inspiration to cadets.
- Badgered the Pentagon to expel the National Day of Prayer.
- Compared Christian evangelism in the military to “Spiritual Rape.” He has also demanded the court-martial and imprisonment of 400 Christian service members. Weinstein says such Christian members need to undergo “400 trials by general court-marshal” and “lose their liberty and go to jail…”
Another Casualty: An Air National Guardsman had his six-year service contract rescinded and health coverage for his wife canceled. His crime? He doesn’t believe in same-sex marriage.
Legal Help Needed: In response, First Liberty’s numerous victories included defending an Air Force combat veteran, a decorated U.S. Navy Chaplain, an Army Ranger Chaplain and an Army Commander, all threatened because of their “politically incorrect” religious beliefs. Legal intervention saved them from discipline and possible court-martial. First Liberty Institute also reversed a ban on religion at military funerals and defeated the ACLU at the U.S. Supreme Court after a lower court had ordered a bag be placed over the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial Cross and ordered it torn down. Yet First Liberty knew they needed to launch an even more ambitious strategy to meet the crisis facing members of the military.
“The shocking attempt to crush the free exercise of religion in the military is outrageous, reckless and dangerous,” says Shackelford of First Liberty Institute. “Military members should never be deprived of the comfort of faith in stressful and lonely situations.”
To Contribute: Send donations to First Liberty Institute, 2001 Plano Parkway, Suite 1600, Plano, TX 75075. They are the largest nonprofit legal organization in the nation dedicated to defending and restoring religious liberty in America.
