The American Humanist Association claims it wants to support religious freedom when it demands an atheist chaplain. Simultaneously, it is threatening “legal action” because camouflage Bibles are available at a military inprocessing station for the Missouri National Guard.

The…recruitment center for the National Guard as well as other military offices…exhibited and offered camouflage-covered Bibles free of charge to recruits enlisting in the National Guard…The letter was sent on behalf of an anonymous recruit who felt that the government was impermissibly endorsing the Bibles and coercing recruits to take them…

The letter demands that the government immediately cease its practice of offering Bibles to National Guard recruits and remove any biblical literature from its possession.

The person who complained was a member of the AHA who enlisted in July. He later clarified that

“I was not approached by anyone with the literature, though it was quite prominently displayed on the shelf.”

The AHA took what the new enlistee said was a passive display and described it as a government action:

the government offering the aforementioned New Testament Bibles for free to military recruits.

For its part, the military told the AHA lawyers they needed to do a little reading before threatening “legal action:”

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen told Military.com that the Bibles kept at the Military Entrance Processing Station and offered to recruits are covered by existing regulation. But so would be the holy books of Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and any other faith, he said.

The AHA was still miffed, and said the fact they were denied entry when they wanted to check out the display was “suspicious.” They left out the fact that random civilians aren’t allowed in the facility at all.

AHA legal director David Niose said it was a “mystery” how texts were available at the facility. Apparently, the AHA hasn’t bothered to talk to fellow activists at the ACLU, who instigated this very policy many years ago (in 2007):

a. A [non-Federal entity] may…place secular or religious literature…for applicant use in a location inside the MEPS…

This was discussed at length just a few months ago when FoxNews highlighted the fact the Gideons themselves were kicked out of just such a facility. In fact, some MEPS facilities have stocked “secularist” literature, and yet no religious person has said they were “coerced” into secularism or claimed the government was endorsing it.

The only complaints have come from atheists.

Before the lawyers at the AHA send a threatening letter next time, they should probably find out the facts. For an organization that claims to represent “skeptics” who rely on evidence, they certainly seemed quick to launch accusations without gathering any evidence themselves.

Also at Military.com (twice), TheBlaze, the Christian News Network, and the Army Times.

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