Friday Afternoon, July 14, 2023

GOP-LED HOUSE PASSES NDAA WITH 

AMENDMENT TO SHUT MRFF DOWN!!!

MRFF URGENTLY NEEDS YOUR HELP!

SEND OUR LETTER TO REP/SENATORS!

Christian nationalist Rep. Mike Turner's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to SHUT MRFF DOWN by making it ILLEGAL for members of the military to even communicate with MRFF is now part of the GOP-led House's version of the NDAA.

THE WHOLE HOUSE HAS NOW PASSED THE BILL WITH TURNER’S DESPICABLE, VINDICTIVE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IN IT!!!

If Turner's amendment is allowed to remain in the final, bicameral version of the NDAA, it will obliterate MRFF's ability to protect and advocate on behalf of our service members facing religious discrimination, harassment, and aggressive proselytizing!

This form submits a letter to Congress on your behalf, which

will be sent to your U.S. Representative in the House and your

U.S. Senators urging removal of Christian Nationalist Rep. Turner's

blatantly unconstitutional NDAA amendment and, additionally,

sends a copy to the entire Senate Armed Services Committee.

MRFF OP-ED

ON DAILY KOS

#1 Trending story on Daily Kos

House passes NDAA with amendment to

SHUT MRFF DOWN!!! Please HELP!

Send our letter to reps/senators!

By: MRFF Senior Research Director Chris Rodda

Friday, July 14, 2023

As I wrote in my June 26 post, Christian nationalist Rep. Mike Turner introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2024 that would in effect SHUT DOWN the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) by making it ILLEGAL for members of the military to even communicate with MRFF! That amendment was PASSED by the House Armed Services Committee (sneakily inserted into a large package of amendments to dupe all the Democrats into voting for it) and became part of the House version of the NDAA.

THE WHOLE HOUSE HAS NOW PASSED THE BILL

WITH TURNER’S DESPICABLE, VINDICTIVE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IN IT!!!

WE NEED YOU TO ACT!!! 

We need everybody to take a minute and fill out our easy little form to send MRFF’s letter to your representative and senators. I’ll explain why doing this could still SAVE MRFF below, but before getting bogged down in details …

CLICK HERE NOW TO GO TO THE FORM

AND SEND THE LETTER.

“It ain’t over until the fat lady sings,” as they say, and in this case the “fat lady” is the Conference Committee.

For those unfamiliar with the process that the NDAA goes through before becoming the final bill that’s signed into law, here’s a brief explanation. The House and the Senate each independently write and pass their own versions of the NDAA. Then, a Conference Committee, made up of members from both the House and the Senate, reconciles the two versions of the bill. In other words, if something is in one bill but not the other, the Conference Committee decides whether it stays in or gets removed. Since Turner’s amendment to SHUT DOWN MRFF is only in the House version of the bill, it is the Conference Committee that will decide its fate, and it is imperative to the survival of MRFF that the Conference Committee’s decision is to remove it!

We do not yet know who the members of the Conference Committee are going to be, which is why we are imploring EVERYONE here to send MRFF’s letter to their representative and senators to ensure that as many members as possible see it. So …

CLICK HERE NOW TO GO TO THE FORM

AND SEND THE LETTER.

Here is the text of Turner’s amendment, which, if it is not removed by the Conference Committee and remains in the final bill, will obliterate MRFF’s ability to protect and advocate on behalf of our service members facing religious discrimination, harassment, and aggressive proselytizing.

LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS RELATED TO

MILITARY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOUNDATION.

None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or otherwise made available for fiscal year 2024 for the Department of Defense may be used—

(1) to communicate with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, its leadership, or its founder; or

(2) to take any action or make any decision as a result of any claim, objection, or protest made by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation without the authority of the Secretary of Defense. 

Don’t let the Christian nationalists in Congress

SHUT MRFF DOWN!!!

CLICK HERE NOW TO GO TO THE FORM

AND SEND THE LETTER.

THE FORWARD

COVERS MRFF

Defense bill targets religious freedom group

run by Jewish veteran

By: Stewart Ain

Thursday, July 13, 2023

The Forward covers GOP Rep. Turner's amendment to shut MRFF down, noting that Turner has wanted to come after MRFF legislatively for seven years, ever since MRFF got a Bible removed from a POW-MIA table at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, in 2016.

The article quotes MRFF founder and president Mikey Weinstein as saying that Turner's amendment is an attempt "to assassinate a well-respected large civil rights organization."

Vote in Support of MRFF

against Rep. Turner's Amendment

MRFF Advisory Board Member, former 2-Term GOP New Mexico Governor and 2-Time Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson Proudly Champions MRFF Against Evil, Unconstitutional Amendment

"I can only hope that this outrageous amendment illicitly targeting the MRFF for its many years of successful civil rights activism for over 84,000 U.S. military and veteran clients does not make it through to final passage. I am proud to have served for many years on the MRFF Advisory Board and continue to believe in and support Mikey Weinstein and the MRFF."

— Gary Johnson

Previous MRFF coverage of

Christian nationalist Rep. Turner's amendment

A handful of MRFF's numerous run-ins with

Christian nationalist GOP Congress members

and Senators over the years

"Congressman Turner"

From: (name withheld)

Subject: Congressman Turner

Date: July 7, 2023 at 6:42:13 AM MDT

To: mikeyw4444@icloud.com

Mikey,

Congressman Turner represents my district. I sent the following to his online website. It initially ended with, “I will donate to the MRFF but not support you my vote.” I felt this was understood with the comment.

I am very disturbed at Congressman Turner’s NDAA Amendment Making it Illegal for Military to Communicate with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF). This violates many aspects of free speech and other American values. You clearly do not understand the purpose and good work of the MRFF. The foundation has helped me with an issue the military chain of command turned a blind-eye. They were very responsive. logical, and acted according to well-researched government and military regulations. Your amendment closes the door that aids many who have no recourse within their chain of command. It seems to be an act of Christian Nationalism that is detrimental to the U.S. military and public. For reference, as one of your constituents, I contacted your office twice about events unrelated to the MRFF but affecting my civil service career at Wright-Patterson AFB. Your office gave the facade of help then abandoned me. The MRFF actively and effectively helps people. I once thought that was the purpose of a Congressional representative. You seem more concerned about forcing your agenda on the public than taking care of constituents and doing what is best for the nation. 

(name withheld)

"Keep fighting the good fight"

From: (name withheld)

Subject: Keep fighting the good fight

Date: July 12, 2023 at 3:48:54 PM MDT

To: mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org

Mikey,

The Japanese have a word “ganbatte” meaning to hang in there make your own destiny, though the true meaning is much deeper.

I admire your spirit and tenacity, so ganbatte. I have a feeling your destiny will be felt by all of us. I am troubled daily by the rise of Christian fundamentalism and hate.

Thanks for your efforts, it matters!

(name withheld)