The Mount Soledad war memorial cross in San Diego has been previously ruled as unconstitutional, violating the Establishment Clause. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently refused to rehear the case or grant an en banc review. Notably, however, 5 of the 11 judges dissented in the denial of an en banc rehearing. The premise of their dissent was that the court had inappropriatelly analyzed the memorial: Read more
American citizens enjoy freedoms those in some other countries can only imagine. These freedoms are protected by the sacrifices of US service men and women, many of whom have given their lives in that service. Members of the US military have protected people they don’t know, rights they often can’t practice, and the freedom of others to advocate ideologies with which they disagree.
They have fought, and died, for something greater than themselves.
Remember their sacrifice this Memorial Day.
With frequent, long-lasting, and repeated lawsuits against military memorials with religious symbology, US Congressmen have proposed legislation that would explicitly permit just such memorials.
Rep. Duncan Hunter…introduced the War Memorial Protection Act in response to the federal Ninth Circuit Court’s Jan. 4 ruling, declaring the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial unconstitutional. Joining Hunter as co-sponsors are Congressmen Brian Bilbray of Solana Beach and Darrell Issa of Vista.
All three Congressmen are from the San Diego area. Several members of Bilbray’s family are reportedly memorialized at the Mount Soledad cross that inspired both the lawsuit and the legislation.
Also noted at the Religion Clause.
MAAF president Jason Torpy’s out-of-left field remarks about a USAFA religious training scenario were previously offered for consideration. Based on what the regulations actually say, the following is most consistent with the environment of religious respect and religious freedom in the military, specifically tailored to the USAFA cadet culture: Read more
The inappropriate invitation of MAAF president Jason Torpy to a USAFA “religious respect” conference was the topic of a separate article. One indicator (among others) of the improper invite was Torpy’s comments on one of the proposed training scenarios. Torpy, a West Point graduate and former Army Captain, presents himself as an expert in matters of military regulations and religion…and, yet, he entirely missed the point.
To recap, the scenario was as follows:
Lisa wears a cross under her uniform. On the obstacle course one day the cross slips outside her uniform and a commander (or teacher) says, “What’s that? That’s not regulation.” Lisa apologizes and says she’ll tuck it back into her shirt. The commander (or teacher) says, “No, you need to take it off; you can’t wear it.”
Torpy’s discombobulated critique: Read more
Remember those who have sacrificed in response to the call of their Nation.
President Obama has not yet issued his 2010 Memorial Day proclamation. See the 2009 Memorial Day proclamation. [Update: Link to President Obama’s 2010 Memorial Day proclamation.]
Michael Weinstein is truly the gift that keeps on giving. His latest attempt at infamy is to say that a red cross appearing on a military hospital’s emblem
violate[s] the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state and should be removed.
DoD Image
Apparently Weinstein has missed the long, international history of the cross in military medical use, as well as the US military’s equivalent treatment of Islam and Judaism that would allegedly “violate…separation of church and state,” pictured below.
Weinstein also objects to the emblem’s motto “pro deo et humanitate” or “for God and humanity,” despite the military’s description of the phrase as pre-dating Christianity.
The emblem in question is that of Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs.
February 17th was Ash Wednesday, a day recognized by Catholic and some liturgical Protestant denominations by the placing of ashes or oil on the forehead. As seen in a variety of pictures provided by the Department of Defense, this was a religious celebration that was able to occur even in a war zone:
Ash Wednesday in Iraq. DoD Photo (Spc Daniel Schneider)
While the US military’s abundant support of free exercise enabled these Soldiers to partake in the religious celebration, there are obviously certain limitations in the combat theatre. For example, the Soldiers would obviously not be able to refuse to put their protective gear (helmets) on because of the oil or ash on their forehead.
By the same token, there is no indication that the Soldiers were required to wipe off the religious observances prior to returning to combat. Like their freedom to wear a cross or carry a Bible, even in combat, US Soldiers may go into combat on Ash Wednesday with the evident Christian symbol of ash on their forehead. The US military does not restrict Read more