Chaplains commend Hawaii marine commander for decision on ‘God bless the military’ sign
News Release from The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty
WASHINGTON — The commanding officer at Marine Corps Base Hawaii has issued a statement announcing that a sign which reads “God bless the military, their families, and the civilians who work with them” will remain on the base without alteration. The decision comes after Col. Sean Killeen received a letter from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation that demanded the sign’s removal or relocation to an area near a chapel.
The letter inaccurately claimed that the sign is a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause even though courts have repeatedly found such slogans to be acceptable in similar contexts.
“We commend Col. Killeen for his decision to abide by the U.S. Constitution and decline to remove a perfectly legitimate sign, which was erected when service men and women were being deployed shortly after 9/11,” said Chaplain (COL) Ron Crews, USA Retired, executive director of Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. “From the founding of our country, every president, including President Obama, has called on God to bless America. This sign can certainly do so as well.”
Killeen responded to the request to remove the sign with a letter, in which he acknowledged that the “sign has been in place for well over a decade – serving as a secular symbol of general support and encouragement to ‘military members, their families, and the civilians who work with them.’ We will continue to honor those who have sacrificed their lives in defense of the country, our freedoms, and our way of life.”
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The Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty is an organization of chaplain endorsers, the faith groups that provide chaplains for the U.S. military and other agencies needing chaplains. The endorsers in the Chaplain Alliance speak for more than 2,600 chaplains serving the armed forces.
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Hawaii Marine Corps base stands firm on keeping ‘God bless the military’ sign
Activist group had requested sign’s removal
News Release from ADF, October 12, 2015
KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii – Marine Corps Base Hawaii is standing firm on keeping a sign on a street corner of its base that reads “God bless the military, their families, and the civilians who work with them” after an activist group had demanded its removal. ADF issued an e-mail to the base’s commanding officer Monday to affirm the decision.
Alliance Defending Freedom originally wrote to the commander, Col. Sean C. Killeen, on Sept. 28 to express support for retaining the sign and debunk the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s inaccurate claim that the sign was in violation of the U.S. Constitution. In a letter to MRFF dated Oct. 9, Killeen wrote that the “sign will remain in its present location and not be altered in any way.”
Full news release, quotes, and related media resources available at the following link: http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/9773
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization that advocates for the right of people to freely live out their faith.
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