Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rejected Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s request that the Oklahoma National Guard be exempted from the military vaccine mandate.
“The SecDef Lloyd Austin response to the OK Gov. Kevin Stitt was notified by Stitt that he had requested an exemption from the mandate to immunize OK National Guard.
“The concern raised by your letter does not diminish the importance of this vital military readiness requirement.” https://t.co/InCLMen1x2
— John C. Bailey (@john_c_bailey) November 30, 2021
Okla. Gov. Stitt has not backed down and threatened to not comply as my colleague, streiff, covered. But Oklahoma is not the only one openly challenging SecDef Austin’s military vaccine mandate. Liberty Counsel brought a suit against President Joe Biden, the Department of Defense, in October, on behalf of military personnel and civilian contractors.
First Liberty Institute also has filed suit on behalf Navy SEALs.
As Fox News reported:
A federal lawsuit is being filed on behalf of dozens of U.S. Navy SEALs seeking religious exemptions from the Defense Department’s (DOD) vaccination mandate, claiming the military is infringing upon service members’ First Amendment freedoms and intimidating them into getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
First Liberty Institute has filed a lawsuit Tuesday to represent itself About 35 SEALs on active duty and three reserve soldiers claim that the military violates their Constitution rights. According to the filing, exclusively obtained by Fox News, the SEALs represented are all members of various denominations within the Christian faith and are objecting to the vaccine mandate based on “their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Many religious leaders support the rights of military personnel to be religiously free. A large group of religious and pastor leaders, including Pastor Paula White-Cain and Jack Hibbs from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills and Lance Warnau, of Lance Learning, and Rabbi Sholom Mirran of Congregation Dor Tikvah joined hands to ask SecDef Austin for religious exemptions for our military personnel. These faith leaders are representative of the broad spectrum of faith in America and diverse ethnic backgrounds across the country.
The rallying call to faith leaders came during a recent Fox News’ Tucker Carlson TonightSegment with Mike Berry, General Counsel of First Liberty. Berry suggested that Navy SEALs may be denied exemptions religiously from the vaccination mandate. Carlson was curious.
“Where are the faith leaders to help in this issue?”
The NFAB heard the call and took action. The NFAB raised this issue during a conference call that was attended by thousands of faith leaders across the nation. The conference featured guest speakers like Secretary Mike Pompeo or First Liberty President Kelly Shackelford. Shackelford, who confirmed the reports by Fox News and other media outlets, said that SEALs were being intimidated and harassed.
“[F]or (the Navy SEALs) requesting their legal right, they’re being attacked, their families are being attacked…they’re being told they could be court marshalled, that they could be dishonorably discharged…”
However, it’s not only the SEALs who are being subjected to this:
“It’s not just happening to the SEALs — it’s happening to people throughout the military. The DoD has stated publicly that they have granted zero religious accommodations,” Shackelford said.
SecDef Austin received the letter urging him not to deny religious exemptions to his Department of Defense.
It says, part of it:
Your decades of military service have made it clear that you know full well the fact that no one is currently being drafted to active duty. Instead, young people are signing up to defend our freedoms. This year, Navy SEALs and military personnel put their lives at risk in the most critical and dangerous operations. It is time to reward their courage, and that of all those who are in uniform.
With the current threats we face – whether it be an emboldened Al-Qaeda or a rising communist regime in China – losing some of our military’s finest over a vaccine mandate would be a travesty. You will endanger the basic rights of servicemen and women and their families by failing to approve legitimate exemptions on time. This could increase polarization in our armed forces and put at risk our national security.
Every American is willing and able to sacrifice their lives for our country’s defense. We ask you to immediately grant religious exemptions. The Constitution guarantees religious liberty and it must be preserved.
After the letters were signed by thousands of leaders from faith, they were sent to the Pentagon.
Paula White Cain, the President and Founder of NFAB said that this was a great example.
“Unlike other countries, America was founded on the idea that we were God’s children and that the government is there to protect our rights and safety – not trample them. If our men and women in uniform are purged from the military because of this, our country will be less safe and it will signal to the public that their religious liberties could be at risk, too.”
Jennifer Korn, who is the wife of a Marine veteran and a Senior Advisor to NFAB, is Jennifer Korn. Her opinion also included a comment on religious exemption.
“As a proud wife of a veteran, I can’t even fathom my husband or anyone in the military being kicked out of service and possibly being dishonorably discharged for requesting a religious exemption, after giving so much to our country. Our military members dedicate their lives to protect all Americans’ freedoms and they shouldn’t have to give up their own freedoms — especially their own faith.”
The National Faith Advisory Board (NFAB) was created in September 2021 in an effort to expand on work begun under President Donald J. Trump. Its purpose is to unify a wide range of faith leaders and to amplify their voices throughout the nation.
Biden’s vaccine mandates are being challenged on all sides, from individual, corporation, and group lawsuits, to federal and state legislative action. Do you think the increased pressure and bad PR will cause SecDef Austin, who is facing a deadline from DoD to eliminate unvaccinated personnel soon enough to be able to claim these religious exemptions in time? He will continue pushing the Biden Agenda and compromising our security and readiness as a fighting force, or will he not?
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