Last Friday evening, Judge Steven Merryday issued a stinging rebuke to the military for violating the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by denying the Religious Accommodation Requests (RAR) of service members. We will share what happened and what comes next for religious freedom for our heroic service members. — Your Faith & Liberty team

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We have been working to provide critical assistance for a major lawsuit against the Biden administration’s military vaccine mandates.

Well, Judge Steven Merryday issued a powerful order protecting the first two clients bringing that lawsuit, Lt. Col. Mary* and Commander Charles*, both of whom were about to be disciplined by their respective military branches after their religious accommodation requests were denied.

Our chairman, Mat Staver, previously won a temporary injunction protecting these two distinguished service members. On Friday, Judge Merryday extended the injunction for the duration of the case. He will soon rule on the remaining 29 plaintiffs and the entire class of service members.

The judge shredded Biden’s mandate, first by ruling “the defendants fail to articulate why Navy Commander’s and Lieutenant Colonel 2’s sincerely held religious practice must yield to the requirement to accept COVID-19 vaccination.”

The order then goes into one of the best defenses of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act we have ever seen.

The religious accommodation request denial letters submitted by members of the various branches in our case showed that the military has been systematically violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by issuing blanket “rubber stamp” denials using “magic words.”

“A blanket or categorical grant no more satisfies RFRA’s individualized assessment than does a blanket or categorical denial,” wrote the judge.

The judge added that using these blanket denials “illustrates that the military fails to afford an applicant an actual ‘case-by-case assessment’ as required by RFRA.”

“Requiring a service member either to follow a direct order contrary to a sincerely held religious belief or to face immediate processing for separation or other punishment undoubtedly causes irreparable harm,” wrote the court.

Then the judge went on to inform the DOD (Department of Defense) that “the ‘harm’ suffered by defendants results only from the defendants’ own failure to comply with RFRA.” In other words, had Joe Biden and the DOD followed the law in the first place, they would not be in this position!

In a move that bodes well for rulings to come for the rest of the plaintiffs and the entire class of military members, the judge rejected the military’s argument that it had a compelling interest and that separating these skilled service members was the least restrictive means available.

Judge Merryday ruled the military must prove “to the individualized person” that it has a compelling interest to vaccinate, and that separation is the least restrictive means to accomplish this alleged interest.

Since the Marines and the Navy failed to present evidence “to the individualized person” of Lt. Col. Mary and Commander Charles, they may (1) continue to serve without the shots, and (2) the military may not take adverse or retaliatory action against them for refusing the COVID shots, filing their appeals or participating in this litigation.

This is a HUGE victory for military members and religious freedom!

This order vindicates the rule of law, which the Department of Defense and every military branch have violated with this unlawful COVID shot mandate. These brave service members give their lives to defend the Constitution, and sadly, the freedom they fight to preserve was denied them—until now!

The abusive actions against these military heroes under the guise of a vaccine mandate carried out by unlawful orders have now collided with the rule of law—and the law won. Freedom is still alive for those who fight to defend her.

The bravery of these military warriors to fight the enemy on foreign soil is equally, if not more, demonstrated when they are willing to fight unlawful orders emanating from the Department of Defense. This order proves these service members can love God and love country while continuing to serve in their respective military branches. They no longer must choose between their Christian convictions and their service to our nation.

Even given this victory, in which we provided invaluable assistance, the work of fighting for religious freedom against Joe Biden’s shot mandates is far from over. Please be in prayer that Judge Merryday extends this same protection to all the plaintiffs in this groundbreaking case, as well as to the entire United States military.

We cannot accomplish this critically important work without YOUR HELP as a faithful Faith & Liberty donor. Please, give generously today and have the IMPACT OF YOUR GIFT DOUBLED by the 2022 Challenge Grant!

Your missionaries to Washington, D.C.,

Peggy Nienaber, Vice President
Mat Staver, Chairman
Rev. Gregory Cox, Lead Missionary

Sources:

“Court Grants Preliminary Relief to Service Members in Navy SEAL 1 Case - Liberty Counsel.” n.d. Lc.org. Accessed February 21, 2022. Lc.org/newsroom/details/021822-court-grants-preliminary-relief-to-service-members-in-navy-seal-1-case.

“Resources & Research: COVID Vaccine.” Liberty Counsel, 2021. lc.org/vaccine.