Tag Archives: first liberty institute

OCF, First Liberty Team Up on Military Religious Freedom

Officers’ Christian Fellowship and First Liberty Institute recently participated in an episode of OCF’s fledgling Crosspoint podcast in which retired Navy JAG CAPT Chris Blake and First Liberty lawyer (and Reserve Marine JAG) Mike Berry discussed the “religious rights of those in uniform.”

At one point, CAPT Blake asks “what has changed” over the past few decades that makes it seem the support for religious freedom has waned since the unashamed exercise of faith years ago. To that, Mike Berry had a witty reply:

The opponents of religious freedom have become louder…but that doesn’t make them more correct.

That was an observation Read more

Column Defends Religious Freedom in the US Military

Writing in the Stars and Stripes, First Liberty attorney Mike Berry rebutted recent calls to restrict religious freedom in the US military.

Referring to last month’s appeal by the Freedom from Religion Foundation and American Atheists for Secretary of Defense James Mattis to end military prayers, Berry pointed out the errors of the groups’ demands and then said [emphasis added]

Were the DOD to give in to the groups’ demands, the harm our military would suffer would be catastrophic. Religious freedom in the military is not a luxury; it is every bit a necessity as bullets, beans and bandages. Religious freedom is a force multiplier that enables all troops — regardless of their faith, or no faith — to prepare themselves for what may be required of them in military service.

The taking of a life — or indeed, the ultimate sacrifice of one’s own life — while Read more

Widespread Public Support for Col Bohannon Builds

The Air Force Times reports that the Family Research Council and American Family Association delivered a petition to the Air Force last week calling for the reversal of adverse action taken against Col Leland Bohannon.

The petition…was accompanied by a letter signed by a coalition of 31 religious liberty advocacy groups that also asks Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to correct Air Force policy on religious expression.

The letter (PDF), signed first by Gen Jerry Boykin, reiterated the legitimate Read more

Senators Scold Air Force over Treatment of Col Leland Bohannon, Religious Liberty

A group of US Senators has written a letter (PDF) asking US Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson not only to “restore justice” to unjustly punished Colonel Leland Bohannon, but also to explain how the Air Force’s actions comport with its — and her — stated support for religious liberty [emphasis added]:

We therefore ask that you, as Secretary of the Air Force, clarify the branch’s position on religious liberty. We ask that you instruct the Air Force to issue formal guidance and provide adequate training to commanders so that they know how to properly and respectfully address the religious liberty rights of their subordinates.

Lastly, we request that you investigate Read more

Military Gay Activists Jump Shark in Attacks on Col Leland Bohannon

UPDATE: This topic must have hit close to the mark, as Tom Carpenter is a bit upset.  Still, based on his inspiration, consider using #GivingTuesday (or any day) to support First Liberty, the non-profit organization currently working in Col Bohannon’s defense.

Tom Carpenter’s Forum on the Military Chaplaincy — which was founded to support the repeal of DADT — recently shared on Facebook Col Bohannon’s story as covered at Military.com. The response from his supporters was predictable — yet still shocking.

LtCol Elisa/Victor Valenzuela — an Air Force active duty homosexual-turned-transgender presumably threatened by President Trump’s policies — asked, apparently sincerely, if Col Bohannon would let his homosexual troops die.

Victor Michael Valenzuela So if he was in a war zone and a gay man came under fire, would the Col be exempt from helping him because of his religious bias? This is a serious question. We are in the military and as leaders, we advocate for all.

That’s moronic, but completely predictable. Amazingly, the homosexual Read more

Case of Fired Christian Col Bohannon Shows Limits of Military Diversity, Tolerance

UPDATE: A group of Republican Senators has sent a letter (PDF) to Secretary Wilson asking her to ‘restore justice’ for Col Bohannon — and, given his mistreatment due to his faith, has asked her to “clarify the [Air Force’s] position on religious liberty.”  The signatories are Senators Ted Cruz, Roy Blunt, James Inhofe, John Kennedy, James Lankford, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, and Roger Wicker.

Henry Ford is said to have offered all of his customers a car in any color they wanted — so long as it was black.

As described by the First Liberty Institute, it seems the US Air Force supports all of its Airmen’s rights to exercise any religious belief they want — so long as it supports homosexuality.

As noted last month, Col Leland Bohannon was fired from his command and had his potential for promotion ended when he declined to personally sign an optional letter praising a same-sex marriage.

Mike Berry, a First Liberty lawyer representing Col Bohannon, said this runs against the very diversity the military claims it values:

This sends a clear message—if you do not have the politically correct viewpoint, you are not welcome in the military. The military is no longer a place of diversity and inclusion if you are a person who holds to a traditional belief on marriage.

Many people would assume Read more

Air Force Fires Col Leland Bohannon for Not Affirming Homosexual Marriage

The US Air Force has fired a high ranking commander and denied him a promotion to General because he declined to personally affirm a homosexual relationship.

Col Leland B.H. Bohannon is still currently listed as the commander of the Air Force Inspection Agency, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico [Update: No longer. Now the AFIA commander is listed as Col Mark Pye, backdated to July 2017]. As detailed in a report filed by his lawyers, last May one of Col Bohannon’s subordinates retired. One of the customary presentations at a retirement is a spouse appreciation certificate, given to the spouse of the retiring member. In this case, Col Bohannon’s subordinate was a homosexual.

Col Bohannon felt that he could not sign the certificate because it would affirm a relationship that was contrary to his religious beliefs. Instead, Col Bohannon Read more

Democrat Senators Again Grill Trump Nominees on Religious Beliefs

US Senators have again taken President Trump’s nominees to task for their (Christian) religious beliefs:

Amy Coney Barrett, a law professor at Notre Dame, was grilled by Democrats over how her Catholic beliefs might influence her decisions from the bench.

“When you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for, for years in this country,” Sen. Feinstein said.

The Senators’ unjustified criticisms of Barrett’s religion has been noted even by the left-leaning Baptist Joint Committee, which published a reminder Read more

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