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MILITARY SHOULD SCRAP "JESUS CODE" RIFLE SIGHTS: "PROPAGANDA COUP FOR TALIBAN, OSAMA" SAY ATHEISTS

An Atheist public policy group said today that rifle sights marked with a secret "Jesus Bible Code" may provide Islamic extremists with a powerful propaganda tool and egregiously and dangerously violate the separation of church and state.

According to a report on ABC News, a Michigan-based company, Trijicon, has a $600 million contract to provide U.S. forces with 800,000 of the rifle sights which are being used in Afghanistan and Iraq. The sights are marked with citations from the Bible, including one that declares that Jesus is "the light of the world."

Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists, said that he fears Islamic terrorists may take full advantage of "a major blunder that seriously risks efforts to reach out to people in Muslim countries threatened by groups like the Taliban and al-Qaeda."

"Part of the U.S. message abroad should emphasize the core American value of secular government and respect for individual religious liberty -- and instead the U.S. military is promoting Christianity, literally with the barrel of a gun. We call on President Barack Obama to repudiate this effort immediately."

Kathleen Johnson, Vice President and Military Director for American Atheists, said that the religious inscriptions "clearly violate the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution, as well as armed forces regulations against promoting sectarian religion."

"We are not going to enjoy much success in trying to achieve 'nation building' and self-sufficiency for democratic governments in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan if our troops are seen as modern-day 'Crusaders' out to impose Christian fundamentalism," said Johnson. She urged the Pentagon and Congress to open an immediate inquiry into how Trijicon won the lucrative contract and if military brass were aware of the Biblical citations on the gun sights.

"These rifle sights should be phased out of use as quickly as possible," added Johnson. "The mission of the U.S. military cannot include proselytizing for Christianity or any other religion."

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc. PO BOX 158 Cranford, NJ 07016 Tel.: (908) 276-7300 Fax: (908) 276-7402
atheists.org

With Mikey Weinstein's kind permission, I'm going to reprint an example of the kinds of letters and emails the Military Religious Freedom Foundation gets on a daily basis from active duty military personnel and their families. The details have been changed so as to maintain the anonymity of the person who wrote it but it is otherwise reproduced just as it came in. And bear in mind while you read this that MRFF has received more than 10,000 such communications.

Dear Mr. Weinstein and MRFF: I am absolutely worried about writing this to you, as I am terrified of the (military service branch withheld), but feel I have no choice. My husband is an honorable man, who I believe has been persecuted in the United States (military service branch withheld) for his refusal to cave in to the Evangelical agenda. He is a (rank withheld), waiting for his retirement, that he won as a part of his Court Martial proceeding in (time frame withheld). Mikey, I have never seen anything like this. My husband has a (educational degree and discipline withheld), taught at (university name withheld) where we often bucked the system regarding the proselytising and has had an honorable career (in the top 4% of rank withheld) in (military command name withheld) until a new command came in to (military installation name withheld) in (month and year withheld). Up until then he was considered to be an excellent candidate for (rank withheld) but we refused as he only wanted to retire and get away from the bible thumping. This command is evangelical in nature-and they harassed me all the way through my husband's court proceeding.

-Article continues off site, courtesy ScienceBlogs: Dispatches from the Culture Wars

BALTIMORE – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Maryland are urging the U.S. Naval Academy to stop forcing midshipmen to participate in the Academy's compulsory "noon meal prayers." 

In a letter sent May 2 to Vice Admiral Jeffrey L. Fowler on behalf of a group of midshipmen who object to the prayers, Deborah A. Jeon, Legal Director for the ACLU of Maryland, asked that the Academy discontinue its requirement that all midshipmen stand in attendance at the daily "noon meal prayer," a practice that violates their religious freedom and rights of conscience. 

In the letter, Jeon makes clear that the ACLU opposes compulsory religious services mandated by the government, not voluntary religious exercises by Academy midshipmen. 

"Members of the military have a right to pray or not pray as they personally see fit, and that right is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. It is one of the fundamental rights they put their lives on the line to defend in service to their country," said Jeon. "But the government should not be in the business of compelling religious observance, particularly in military academies, where students can feel coerced by senior students and officials and risk the loss of leadership opportunities for following their conscience."

Article Continues (Off Site)

FORT RILEY, Kan. — When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement.

Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers.

Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Defense Department, declined to comment on the case, saying, “The department does not discuss pending litigation.”

Article Continues (Off Site)

Courtesy The New York Times

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A soldier claimed Wednesday that his promotion was blocked because he had claimed in a lawsuit that the Army was violating his right to be an atheist.
Attorneys for Spc. Jeremy Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation refiled the federal lawsuit Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan., and added a complaint alleging that the blocked promotion was in response to the legal action.
The suit was filed in September but dropped last month so the new allegations could be included. Among the defendants are Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Hall alleges he was denied his constitutional right to hold a meeting to discuss atheism while he was deployed in Iraq with his military police unit. He says in the new complaint that his promotion was blocked after the commander of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley sent an e-mail post-wide saying Hall had sued.
Fort Riley spokeswoman Alison Kohler said the post "can't comment on ongoing legal matters" and offered no further statement.
According to the lawsuit, Hall was counseled by his platoon sergeant after being informed that his promotion was blocked. He says the sergeant explained that Hall would be "unable to put aside his personal convictions and pray with his troops" and would have trouble bonding with them if promoted to a leadership position.

Story Continues (Off_Site)

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