Posted on 09/05/2014 10:14:27 AM PDT by EveningStar
Link only, per agreement with Gannett
Don’t they allow you to affirm? They should because observant Jews absolutely cannot swear to God in this manner.
So help me Allah.
To take one example.
Is he one of odumbo’s new recruits...mooselime or pickle kisser...
Hasn’t the hero of Benghazi replaced God with Allah yet?
OTOH, if the guy really is an atheist, why not swear to God, since he believes God doesn't exist it's not really an oath, is it?
There’s more to this story. I fail to believe this was over the oath.
Having presided over dozens, actually hundreds, of oaths, both initial and reenlistment, I call BS.
Affirm is allowed vice swearing.
So help me god may be ommitted.
The Air Force is only following the law as passed by Congress. The Air Force said it cannot change its AFI to make “so help me God” optional unless Congress changes the statute mandating it.
Sounds like another bozo looking for his 15 minutes to me. I’m pretty sure the military already has enough of those. The next thing you know he’ll be pissin’ and moanin’ to his “humanist” pals about places of worship being allowed on base. Adios Amigo!!!! The First Amendment doesn’t say anything about freedom FROM religion. This country was created and built by people who wanted to worship openly and freely. If the OATH offends you, go flip burgers.
I call BULLSHIT...........
This is bogus....
Violates Article VI.
Why do the other branches allow omition? Was this law you speak of directed at the AF only?
From the article:
Air Force Instruction 36-2606 spells out the active-duty oath of enlistment, which all airmen must take when they enlist or reenlist and ends with “so help me God.” The old version of that AFI included an exception: “Note: Airmen may omit the words ‘so help me God,’ if desired for personal reasons.”
That language was dropped in an Oct. 30, 2013, update to the AFI. The relevant section of that AFI now only lists the active-duty oath of enlistment, without giving airmen any option to choose not to swear an oath to a deity.
“Reciting ‘So help me God’ in the reenlistment and commissioning oaths is a statutory requirement under Title 10 USC 502,” Air Force spokeswoman Rose Richeson said Thursday. AFI 36-2606 “is consistent with the language mandated in 10 USC 502. Paragraph 5.6 [and] was changed in October 2013 to reflect the aforementioned statutory requirement and airmen are no longer authorized to omit the words ‘So help me God.’ ”
Will be struck down regardless as a violation of Article VI.
No, Title 10 USC 502 applies to all branches. However I believe this is the first incident that has risen to a lawsuit due to an atheist in the Air Force objecting to the phrase. IOW, first test case.
That calls into question the Air Force's contention that the decision to make it no longer optional was out of their hands, and that the Air Force was only "following the law".
Are the other branches breaking the law by making it optional? Doesn't seem likely that the Air Force has a leg to stand on here if this article is correct:
A few questions need to be addressed:
Is the current law in violation of the Constitution?
Does the President or DOD have the authority to wave the requirement of “...so help me God”
If the President via signing authority or executive order, changes that part of the oath, what other parts can he change?
I think it’s very clearly unconstitutional, unless there is an argument that military service is not a public trust under Article VI, which is unlikely.
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