Threat of Litigation over Military Fly-Bys

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United) and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation have both complained that the Air Force is violating the Constitution by participating in a patriotic event that took place over Memorial Day weekend.  The event, sponsored by Task Force Patriot Salute to the Troops in Stone Mountain, Georgia, was put together as a time to honor our military men and women. 

Americans United charged in a letter dated May 23, 2007, to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Secretary of the U.S. Army that the three-day event is sponsored by a Christian organization and is an unabashedly religious weekend featuring evangelical Christian speakers and worship services.  The letter went on to state that [t]his marriage of religion and government is precisely what the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was designed to forbid.  The letter closed with a demand that the Air Force and the Army retract the military sponsorship of the event and that the military events must be presented as a discreet part of the festivities rather than integrated into worship services or other religious activity.  Finally, Americans United went on to state that active duty military personnel [must] maintain compliance with constitutional requirements.  They then stated that this would require putting Major Neal to a choice:  He could appear out of uniform in his personal capacity, in which case he may present his religious testimony but cannot perform functions that are plainly undertaken in an official capacity such as the introduction and narration of the B2 fly-overs; or if he wears his uniform, he may introduce and narrate the fly-overs but he must refrain from delivering religious messages as part of his presentation. 

The legal position advocated in the Americans Uniteds letter, in our view, is incorrect.  We are responding with a detailed Memorandum of Law to the Armed Services regarding the appropriateness of patriotic expressions even at events where there is a religious component.  We have assembled a senior team here at the American Center for Law and Justice to put forward a response to the letter from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.  We also note that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, whose chairman is Mikey Weinstein, whom I debated at the Air Force Academy, is also saying that he plans to file a lawsuit very soon against the Department of Defense, the Air Force and the Army, charging them with violating the U.S. Constitution by endorsing Christianity. 

We will keep you posted in the days ahead as we commence work on this project to counter Americans United for Separation of Church and State.