Posted on 08/11/2016 5:50:45 PM PDT by Libloather
Marine who was court-martialed after putting up Bible verse at her desk loses First Amendment appeal in 'outrageous' federal court decision
A Marine who was court-martialed after refusing to take biblical verses down from her desk has lost her federal appeal, in a decision her representative called 'outrageous'.
Marine Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling lost a 2014 court-martial at her base in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, based in part on her refusal to remove the verses.
She challenged that action but was told Wednesday that she had lost the case after it was ruled that the order was not a 'substantial burden' on her First Amendment rights, Fox News reported.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Yea. The Nuremburg defense, "I was only following orders."
It was an illegal order. Maybe she should have been told to dye her skin, and not be black. "...without question."
And neither are we a democracy.
The military is not above Constitutional law, but that’s not to say the Constitution was violated in this case.
Some people. though, typically not here, argue that the Second Amendment applies only to soldiers. Where did they get a decoder ring that says when an article of the Bill of Rights applies to soldiers, and when one doesn’t?
So are our roots and the facts of history.
You join the military to fight the the rights of fellow Americans. When you join, you lose many rights afforded to the American public. Military 101.
Utterly shameful.
In Navy boot camp in the early 60’s, we had to attend services on Sunday. Mandatory. First Catholics went to services, then the Christians went. Being Catholic, I thought I’d try a Christian service first time in my life. Glad I did, I liked it, especially singing as a group, which we Catholics never did. Anyway, you have to follow orders, you’re government owned once you take the oath. Hope the girl doesn’t lose her spirit though.
Military 101 indeed
I grew up with Dominican nuns and in a family long rooted in Catholicism. I never had the support of my Catholic belifs so much as I did when I was in the military. Just not AT work
Military can compartmentalize incredibly It works. And I was never harassed yo be any religion when I was at work. There’s really no problem. Sorry
I will bet a paycheck that this dame was prosteletyzingband abusing her authority
She’s a mess. She should have done time. You CLEARLY did not read the article. She is a brat!!!! And didn’t show up for work. How you look to her as a role model is beyond me.
Outrageous!
I’ve been connected to the military all my life, and I’ve never heard of an O3 (officer) demoted to
I have literally been military all my life - Navy daughter, Army wife, Army mom, and Army teacher. Never heard of an officer being demoted to an enlisted rank.
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Sorry. It’s getting late.
When you join the military you are subject to the UCMJ. The UCMJ restricts constitutional rights, such as free speech. You can be thrown in jail for not showing up to work. You can be tried in a civilian court, found guilty, then be tried in a military court for the same offense. You can be charged with sending emails that are disparaging to the president.
If this person hung these sayings on her computer desk at a bank she might have won this case. What she and her lawyer forgot is she is subject to military law not constitutional law.
A Representative Republic is a form of democracy.
It was not an illegal order. If her commanding officer felt that her behavior was detrimental to good order and discipline of the unit he/she has the authority to give such an order.
She and the computer are government assets. A commander has both legal and moral authority to use thier assets as he or she deems nessasary to accomplish thier mission. Anything that distracts from that must be removed.
It’s quite obvious this marine had insubordination issues. Her behavior had become a distraction to the unit. She was dealt with properly.
So if the display of Christian symbols is a statement of faith, is not the lack of display of Christian symbols a display of malice against Christianity? The way to most show contempt for someone, especially someone of immense importance, is to display indifference.
Or again, is it not possible for a Christian to be “offended” by the lack of “tolerance” for the love for Jesus Christ in their workplace?
Military Civil Rights
There are none to speak of. You are government property. You assumed you were the property of a decent government and willfully submitted to those terms whether you were completely aware of them or not. You are not in my view the property of a decent government.
This is not about the verses. It is about the rights and they are what this government wants them to be, not something inalienable. The military exists as a subset of a free society that is not free and we agreed it would not be. Not to prevent the exercise of what we considered good free speech and civil rights but to prevent exactly what we see now, a perversion of civil rights and morals.
You do have the obligation to disobey an unlawful order but who is the arbiter of unlawful when the DOJ refuses to prosecute clear unlawful acts? The same indecent government that owns you.
Once again, we are proving without the rule of law we have nothing but the capricious whim of society.
The flags are at half mast at MO commemorating the military dog Vvaas, chapel memorial service at 1030 hrs with all the base invited to attend. The airplanes are falling apart, we are short of pilots but the commander feels it is necessary to commemorate a dog. I’m sorry he died but he is still a dog and I am sorry the commander has trivialized memorial services. Now fallen troops will merit the same recognition as a dog.
Wonderful. Good job Colonel. The snowflakes are happy now.
I don't think they would have any problem at all if it were a verse from the Quran. Satan is having open season on Christians right now. It's all part of the plan. I think God is going to allow men to see what the end result of their truly evil and carnal nature will lead them if He removes His protection and hands from world affairs. We are stupid creatures who think we are intelligent and it will soon become apparent we still have a lot of learning to do.
It’s called a RIF. Every promotion cycle officers that miss promotion on thier last eligible year are given a choice to separate, retire or resign thier commission and become enlisted. Also, if an officer was not selected to become a “regular” officer they will also be RIFed.
Additionally, an officer can resign thier commission at any time and request to become enlisted.
“...I think God is going to allow men to see what the end result of their truly evil and carnal nature will lead them ...”
SPOT ON.
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