FBB Support Helps MRFF Protect Constitutional Rights for Military Service Members
By Administrator
First-quarter human rights beneficiary the Military Religious Freedom Foundation gave us this report about how they are using the funds contributed by members of Foundation Beyond Belief. Members donated $3,480 to MRFF last quarter.
Foundation Beyond Belief’s generous gift aided the Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s (MRFF) goal of ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces receive the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom to which they are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
MRFF represents nearly 23,000 active-duty U.S. military service members. MRFF’s clients come from all faiths (96% Christian), agnostics, and atheists. MRFF’s client list currently grows by 300 to 600 each month.
Last year, MRFF discovered the abhorrent usage of Bible verses on U.S. Military rifles, then immediately selected ABC News’ “Nightline” program to break this astonishing story. Once this story went on to make international mainstream news, military forces in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Israel all have expressed clear intentions to remove the scriptural references on their weaponry. The so-called “Jesus Rifles” were eliminated from military use solely due to the full force of MRFF’s legal and media resources.
Early this year, MRFF filed a demand with the Secretary of the Army and the Army Chief of Staff to cease and desist its policy of administering the spiritual component of the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness (CSF) Program’s Soldier Fitness Tracker (SFT) and Global Assessment Tool (GAT) to enlisted men and women and immediately discontinue all mandatory follow-up to that component of the test.
Most recently, MRFF was specifically sought out to submit written testimony to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights hearing entitled “Protecting the Civil Rights of American Muslims.” This first-ever Congressional hearing on the civil rights of American Muslims was held on March 29, 2011. MRFF was one of only a select, small handful of entities to which the Senate Committee extended formal invitations to provide critical testimony.
Thank you, Foundation Beyond Belief, for your most generous support of our vital cause.
Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein
President and Founder
Military Religious Freedom Foundation