Tag Archives: Congress

CAIR Accuses Army JROTC of Discrimination

The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has said US Army JROTC uniform policies are discriminatory after Demin Zawity, a freshman at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, TN, was told she could not wear her Islamic headscarf while in the Army uniform.

There’s no reason for them to have a policy that excludes people such as Zawity, said Gadeir Abbas, a CAIR staff attorney. It paves the way to encourage all faiths to participate, he added.

While noble-sounding, Abbas’ statement was ignorant.  JROTC programs are designed to be nearly identical to their ROTC and operational military equivalents — including following generally the same uniform rules.  In this case, the JROTC rule accurately reflects US military policy (to which there have been some notable exceptions).

Abbas also made a misleading and potentially incendiary statement:  Read more

No Homosexual “Marriages” at West Point Chapel

While homosexual ceremonies may be permissible on military institutions according to the Pentagon, it appears that ruling may not extend to the Catholic chapel at West Point.

Taylor Henry, spokesman for Archbishop Timothy Broglio — who oversees all Catholic chaplains in the US military — said

the Holy Trinity chapel at the famous military school is a Catholic parish, unlike the non-denominational chapels that are found on other military installations, and that the only services held there are Catholic services.

Since the Roman Catholic Church “does not perform the sacrament of matrimony for same-sex couples,” no such ceremonies will take place at that institution, Henry said.

In addition, consistent with the military’s message on the matter, Henry explicitly said no Catholic chaplain would be performing similar ceremonies of “unions between individuals of the same gender resembling marriage.”

Broglio also noted what some are saying is an inconsistency between the military’s recent policy and the Defense of Marriage Act:  Read more

MRFF Belittles Senator Cornyn’s Defense of Constitution

As predicted, it wasn’t long before Chris Rodda came out in defense of Michael Weinstein’s “big victory” for his self-founded Military Religious Freedom Foundation that Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) recently seemed to undermine.  From the Huffington Post:

This summer, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) scored a big victory…

Senator John Cornyn…doesn’t like the Air Force’s decision…

Rodda’s article is essentially a rehash of the prior writeups, with the addition of Cornyn’s letter.  One “new” piece of information is Rodda’s claim that Read more

Senator Tells Air Force to Explain Response to MRFF Complaint

A few other media sources are catching up to Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) letter to the Secretary of the Air Force released on Monday.

Suspending a course like this because of references to religious texts misinterprets the First Amendment. [The Constitution] does not, as some have argued, protect them from exposure to religious references.

(Some continue to use the word “misrepresents,” though the published letter says “misinterprets.”)

Michael Weinstein’s MRFF — which claims a Constitutional Read more

DADT: Obama Certifies Repeal, Critiques, and Questions

Below:

  • President Obama has certified appeal; September 20th marks DADT end
  • ADF “stands ready to defend” servicemembers with faith, service conflict
  • Pakistan protests US support for homosexuals, even with DADT repealed
  • Washington Times notes “smoking gun,” Executive Branch misled Congress
  • Mixon says military “not ready” for DADT repeal, critics silenced
  • US military now used to “attack” Defense of Marriage Act
  • Multiple-marriage group seeks same respect as homosexuals

Read more

JFW: The Religious Rights of Those in Uniform

The Journal of Faith and War has published a lengthy set of articles on “The Religious Rights of those in Uniform.”  The series was written by Jay Sekulow and Robert Ash.  Dr. Sekulow is chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice (and debated Michael Weinstein at the US Air Force Academy in 2007).  Robert Ash (USA, Retired) is a West Point graduate, served 22 years in the Army, and teaches law at Regent University.

The articles originally appeared as “Religious Rights and Military Service” in Attitudes Aren’t Free: Thinking Deeply about Attitudes in the US Armed Forces, which contained the infamous article by Chris Rodda denigrating the celebration of Easter by Christians in the military.

The publication is a refreshingly positive perspective on what men and women of faith can do while serving in the US military.  So often critics have emphasized (or created an environment focused on) impermissible conduct; as a result, some military members (or religious persons considering military service) may assume their religious exercise is restricted.

That is not the case, as the JFW articles show.

The first article covers the “General Legal Principles” Read more

Obama Appoints Homosexual Veteran to West Point Board

The Wall Street Journal noted President Barack Obama appointed openly homosexual Army veteran Brenda “Sue” Fulton to the US Military Academy (West Point) Advisory Board.

Fulton is USMA Class of 1980, the first West Point class to include women. She is also part of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, an activist organization toward DADT repeal.  Another member of the “forum,” retired Navy Chaplain (CAPT) John Gundlach, recently called military members’ religious opposition to repeal “bigotry.”

The WSJ notes her appointment puts  Read more

Senator Calls for Investigation into VA Censorship, Atheists Defend

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has asked the Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate allegations that a VA cemetery in Texas has been censoring “God” and “Jesus” from ceremonies.  From the Senator’s letter to VA Secretary Erik Shineski:

I am…greatly concerned by the complaints my office has received from veterans and their families that the Houston National Cemetery Director has forbidden the name of God or Jesus to be used during funeral services at the cemetery, even if the family wishes to do so. Our veterans swore to uphold the Constitution with their lives, and they and their families’ religious freedom should be honored, not prohibited. [emphasis added]

I am requesting that you look into this situation to determine if there are indeed any religious prohibitions or restrictions on speech or religious expression at the Houston National Cemetery. I would also ask that you determine if this situation is unique to the Houston Cemetery or if there are policies in place that might lead to religious prohibitions or restricted speech at other veteran cemeteries.

The controversy started around Memorial Day, when it took a court injunction to allow a local preacher to say “Jesus” when he prayed.  Now the complaint has Read more

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