Tag Archives: religious freedom

Activist, Constitutional Lawyer Get Military Liberty Wrong

Shannon Minter, a “transgender man” (that is, a woman) of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and David Codell, a constitutional lawyer in Los Angeles, celebrated the US military’s decision to permit service by openly transgender individuals in a recent column awkwardly titled “A more equal military“.  They summarized the victory thusly [emphasis added]:

As a result, persons of any race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity can provide equal protection to our nation through open, proud and equal service in our military.

They’re wrong, of course. In the most obvious example, persons of the Sikh faith are not permitted Read more

US Troops Pose with Cross. Mikey Weinstein Conniption to Follow.

A group of US Army Soldiers (and one Sailor) recently posed for a photo during training:

soldierscross3With a group of US troops posing in front of a flag with a Christian cross, Michael “Mikey” Weinstein will no doubt pontificate on the propaganda value such a photo provides for al Qaeda and ISIS, and how these troops are endangering the lives of their fellow troops, violating their oaths and the US Constitution, etc., etc., etc.  Standard bigoted fare.

He’s wrong, of course, but such tripe is common from Weinstein, and he Read more

Professor Erroneously Cites Military Religious Freedom

Noah Feldman, a columnist for Bloomberg and professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard, recently penned an article appealing for public support against Mississippi’s religious protection statutes [emphasis added]:

Signed in April, the Mississippi law calls itself the “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act.” …

It should be held unconstitutional because it violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment by singling out one set of religious beliefs for positive treatment.

To buttress his argument against “the danger of religious exemptions,” Feldman cited Goldman v Weinberger, the landmark case in which the US Supreme Court Read more

Benghazi Report: DoD Called American Preacher over Conduct

As noted by Todd Starnes at FoxNews, the recently released report on the Benghazi incident revealed that the DoD was directed to contact Terry Jones — the controversial Florida preacher who had previously railed against Islam:

According to the report — the White House directed Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to call Preacher Jones.

There were also discussions that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton might “issue another statement to distance the United States from the Pastor Jones video.”

While a revelation to Starnes, it was actually public news at the time. As Starnes Read more

US Army Rebuffs Mikey Weinstein. Again.

Despite a complaint by the perpetually-offended anti-Christian Michael “Mikey” Weinstein, the US Army has said there was nothing wrong with a Bible being displayed on a POW/MIA table during an Army ball, because it was a private event:

“The individuals that participated in the ball have the right to express themselves as U.S. citizens under the First Amendment,” Lt. Col. Catina Barnes-Ricks, an 8th Army spokesman, said Monday in an email.

The statement went on to say they reminded Soldiers not to endorse religion:  Read more

Martyrdom, Sacrifice Do Not Absolve Wrong

John Sutter, a CNN columnist, recently repeated what has become a tired — and ultimately baseless — argument: The tragic murder of homosexuals means homosexuality needs to be accepted.  He expressed his disbelief that the terrorist attack in Orlando hadn’t generated waves of conversions in ideology:

Even in the wake of one of the deadliest mass shootings in history, one that specifically targeted members of the LGBT community, politicians and religious leaders are unable to offer unalloyed support…

It’s a nonsensical proposition on its face. The death of a group of people who share a common characteristic does not suddenly legitimize that characteristic. When a man goes on a killing spree targeting sex offenders, for example, sex offenders do not suddenly become honorable, moral, or defensible. Their offense does not justify, warrant, or legitimize their murder — but neither does the murder legitimize their immorality.

Sutter goes a step further, though, and says American citizens who oppose homosexuality “branch from the same tree” as Islamic terrorist Omar Mateen:  Read more

Army Chaplain: Christian Faith Consistent with Being Gay

US Army Post Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, posted an interesting article coinciding with the DoD’s “celebration” of gay pride this month. US Army Chaplain (Capt) Aaron Oliver explains that he believes his faith and his homosexuality are “consistent”:

Some argue faith and being a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community are at odds with one another, however for one Fort Sill chaplain the two are not incompatible.

“Some see the two, being gay and faith, as an inconsistency,” said Chap. (Capt.) Aaron Oliver. “For me it never really was.”

Publishing this story is an interesting, if potentially problematic, step for Read more

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