Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council notes that a US servicemember raised the “rainbow flag” over an American base in Afghanistan, as indicated by the serviceman’s wife’s Facebook post:
The flag is recognizable as the symbol for the homosexual “movement,” though it remains unclear why someone needs a flag to advertise the fact they’re sexually Read more
Joining the theme of Rick Perry’s statements that President Obama had a “war on religion,” Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council called the Obama administration “hostile to Christianity.”
“You can’t judge what’s in somebody’s heart or their administration, but you can judge them by the fruits of their labors,” Perkins said. “The fruit of this administration shows it is hostile to Christianity.”
He was referring to the Walter Reed policy banning religious items (specifically, Bibles) within the US military medical facility. By contrast, the Washington Times noted the government goes the extra mile to make sure detainees at Guantanamo have access to the Koran.
We shouldn’t really be surprised when a bureaucrat tries to bar Bibles in a U.S. military stateside hospital while other bureaucrats make sure terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, get copies of the Koran.
You almost have to feel sorry Read more
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center issued the following statement in response to the outcry over its explicit ban on Bibles in the facility, saying it was “incorrect” as written and “has been rescinded.”
We are in the process of rewriting our policy and would like to offer the following statement:
Bibles and other religious materials have always been and will remain available for patient use at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The visitation policy as written was incorrect and should Read more
Just days after noting the potential impact that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal might have on military Chaplains, there are now widespread articles on the decision by an Air Force base Chaplain’s office to rescind the invitation of a speaker who opposed President Obama’s proposed repeal.
The actions were those of an individual Chaplain’s office and were not necessarily indicative of the decisions of higher level leadership. However, the decision itself is a perfect example of the conflict that organizations opposing the repeal intend to highlight.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins had been invited in October by the Chaplains’ office to speak at the February 25 National Prayer Luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base (now known as Joint Base Andrews). Perkins is a US Marine veteran and ordained minister. Supposedly, after President Obama used his State of the Union to call for a repeal of DADT, and Perkins and the FRC vocally opposed him, the Chaplain’s office rescinded the invitation. (Notably, the Chaplain’s office is free to invite or disinvite anyone they choose; it is their public reasoning for doing so that makes this case interesting.)
The letter from the Chaplain’s office rescinding the invitation reportedly said: Read more