Posted on 05/21/2015 11:20:11 AM PDT by kristinn
A court case working its way through the military justice system raises a basic question: Should a member of the military be allowed to post a religious passage in her place of work?
The case involves Monifa J. Sterling, a Marine veteran who was convicted in a court-martial at Camp Lejeune, N.C., of failing to go to an appointed place of duty, disrespecting a superior commissioned officer and four specifications of disobeying a lawful order. She was sentenced last year to a reduction in rank from lance corporal to private and given a bad-conduct discharge, a status that will stay on her military record and prohibits her from receiving benefits as a veteran.
It is a specific portion of Sterling’s past that is still in dispute, however. Sterling was found guilty of disobeying a lawful order in part because she refused to take down three signs in her workspace with the message: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” It’s a derivation of the biblical passage Isaiah 54:17, a motivational message that says that “no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.”
Sterling, a Christian, had the message posted in three places around her computer – one for each part of the Holy Trinity, she said, according to court documents. Her boss, a staff sergeant, told her to take the signs down repeatedly, and did so herself when Sterling refused to do so. The senior Marine found their tone combative.
The case has been taken up by the Liberty Institute, a religious liberty advocacy group, and Paul D. Clement, a former solicitor general of the United States and current law professor at Georgetown University. Sterling should have been allowed to keep the religious signs in her Marine Corps office under provisions in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Serving a virulently anti-Christian government does come with these risks.
IF some folks had their way in WW2.. Pinups would have been banned and bombers grounded..
I guess there is an inherent price to be paid by some and not others.. No reason or rhyme to this one..
Maybe a fellow Muslim Marine might have been offended and went jihad.
Btw, I never met a Marine that was an atheist. I guess they do exist, Id certainly prefer them to be in another foxhole when the fit hits the shan.
This is not a religious liberty issue. The Marine in question disobeyed a lawful order. Marines are not allowed to affix ANYTHING to ADPE (automated data processing equipment) in their spaces. Personal items such as photos or stickers of “Hello Kitty” are also disallowed. Her SNCO and OIC have authority over what items are allowed on desk spaces, providing it does not take up the majority of the space. All Marines are expected to maintain a professional environment and not clutter their desks. This Marine disregarded all orders to the contrary.
If all personal touches were banned from that workplace, then she was in the wrong. If others were allowed personal decorations, quotes, pictures, houseplants, etc., and the order was based on the content of her quotes, then the order was not a lawful order. I did not see a clear indication in the article on which was the case.
That was not the reason given, though. The reason was that the message was “combative,” not that it created a cluttered work space.
Should have posted verses from the Qur’an - safer and 0bama would have given her a certificate/medal or something.
Becha Command doesn’t have the stones to tell someone to take down “Aluha Akbar” signs.
(and, NO! I DON”T care about the spelling!)
The original order was to remove the items from her monitor. She refused, hence "disobeying a lawful order" from her SNCO. The OIC would have followed up. Any resistance could have been deemed 'combative' and JAG's love to pile on charges.
I went though Airborne training in the summer of 1974. Because I was a taller and stronger trainee, I was selected to be the “pole man” during part of Tower Week.
Black Hats had nude centerfolds inside the tower shack; and it was emphasized to me how important it was to, “hit the hole” , a connection hooking the parachute to the frame of the frame of the the lift that raised the chute up to the top of the tower, all while other trainees chanted, “hit the hole, pole man, hit the hole.”
“At least one other religious liberty advocate thinks the lower court’s findings should be left in place. Mikey Weinstein...” This is the dumbest statement I have seen in a long time and shows the anti Christian bias of the writer. If Weinstein is a religious liberty advocate, then Satan is in rehab.
And there were still dancing girls at the I Bar in the basement of the O Club just up the street at that time too.
In 1976, there were still topless dancers at the officers club at Ft. Lewis.
In 1978, 2/77 Armor had a Dining In at North Fort Lewis Officers Club, which included two strippers and some public sex acts between said strippers and a couple of captains. Club manager tried to get the battalion commander to put a. Stop to it, to no avail. Manager called the MPs and base OOD. The division commander arrived wearing his pajamas; and he wasn’t there to participate in the activities.
BN commander was relieved on the spot and the two captains were also relieved and given Article 15s.
True story,, but I wasn’t there. A couple of my LT friends in the unit were.
Hmm, A combative Marine
Best to drum her out of the corps.
But it will be a real resume enhancer if she decides to apply for work at some leftist company!
Another example of leading from your heart instead of your brain....on both sides of the incident!
That said here has to be more to it than what’s stated in the article....takes a lot of pushback from a L.Cpl. to get that kind of reaction from a SNCO.....been there, hammered L.Cpl. of same temperament.
If she was allowed to decorate her monitor, then everyone would have to be allowed to decorate their monitors and that could get out of hand. So do as you’re ordered. It isn’t her equipment to begin with.
The golden rule in that situation, look but don’t touch!
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