From Military.com:
“Lawsuit Filed over Display of
Bible at Veterans Hospital”
A Bible on display at a memorial
at New Hampshire's veterans hospital should be removed because it is a
violation of the First Amendment, a U.S. Air Force veteran said in a federal
lawsuit Tuesday. The Bible was carried by a prisoner of war in World War II and
became part of the Missing Man Table honoring missing veterans and POWs at the
entranceway of the Manchester VA Medical Center. The Department of Veterans
Affairs said Tuesday the table was sponsored by a veterans group called the
Northeast POW/MIA Network. The lawsuit filed in Concord by James Chamberlain
against the center's director, Alfred Montoya, says the Bible's inclusion is in
violation of the Constitution. The First Amendment stipulates "that the
government may not establish any religion. Nor can the government give
favoritism to one religious belief at the expense of others," according to
the suit. Chamberlain, a devout Christian, said in the lawsuit the table should
be a memorial to all who have served, regardless of their beliefs. The suit
said the original POW/MIA table tradition was started by a group of Vietnam
combat pilots and didn't include a Bible as one of the items. The medical
center initially removed the Bible in January after another group, the Military
Religious Freedom Foundation, objected, saying it got complaints from 14
patients who felt it violated the First Amendment. A variety of religions were
represented among the 14. But the Bible reappeared on the table in February. It
had been removed "out of an abundance of caution," Curt Cashour, a
Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman, said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
Afterward, the medical center received an outpouring of complaints from
veterans and others, "many of whom dropped off Bibles at the
facility" in protest, Cashour said. After consulting with lawyers, the
medical center put the Bible back on the table indefinitely, Cashour said. He called
the table "a secular tribute to America's POW/MIA community." He
apologized to those were offended by the Bible's "incorrect" removal.
But Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom
Foundation, said it is the presence of the Bible that is offensive. "It's
incredibly disrespectful, dishonorable, and most importantly, it's
illegal," he said.
^ I have always been for the separation
between Church and State. When I lived in Virginia I worked to not have voting
places in Churches. I am Roman Catholic
and consider myself religious. I just don’t believe that any religion should be
included in the political arena (especially one religion over another.) Canada,
the UK, Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth Realms officially promote
the Protestant Religion over all other religions since only a Protestant can be
the King or Queen. I don’t want to see the same official discrimination occur
in the United States. With regards to this Bible at the VA Hospital. I believe
that it should be allowed to be on display and should have a card or notice by
it stating that it is a historical artifact– that a POW used the Bible to survive
his imprisonment while serving in the US Military. That note then shows that the
US Military, the VA, the Hospital, the Federal Government, etc. isn’t promoting
one religion over another religion, but is promoting the struggles and
sacrifices of American men and women that were Prisoners of War. ^
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