Sunday Afternoon, July 16, 2023

MRFF VICTORY!!!

MRFF GETS OFFENSIVE BASKET

OF CHRISTIAN PROSELYTIZING ITEMS 

NEXT TO VA CLINIC’S CHECK-IN COUNTER

REMOVED IN UNDER 24 HOURS! 

In the latest victory in getting unavoidable displays of Christian supremacy removed from VA facilities, MRFF, in under 24 hours, got a basket of Christian proselytizing items, described by one veteran client as being on a table right next to the clinic's check-in counter, removed from the Athens, Georgia, VA Clinic.

The basket, whose proselytizing items included "checks" from "THE BANK OF ETERNAL LIFE," signed by none other than Jesus Christ himself, was objected to by a retired Air Force officer and at least ten other veterans (seven of whom the retired officer believed to be Christians) who receive care at the clinic.

Statement from MRFF Founder and President

Mikey Weinstein after phone call with Senior

VA Official at the Athens, Georgia, VA Clinic

“After receiving the complaints of 11 honorable veterans, 7 of them Christians, I was able to contact a senior VA official at the Athens Georgia facility… In the phone conversation, that official asked to put me on hold… The official went out to the lobby, spotted the offending basket, that is routinely filled with sectarian Christian, proselytizing material and came back and told me on the phone that it had been IMMEDIATELY removed pursuant to our MRFF complaint…… The official told me that VA staff had indicated that somebody comes in from the outside and fills the basket every week with Christian proselytizing material… The VA staff was allowing it… The senior VA official told the staff that this illicit activity is no longer allowed so this is a wonderful victory for our 11 veteran clients!”

Email from the VA official the day after phone call

with Mikey Weinstein, confirming in writing that the Christian proselytizing basket had been removed

From: (Senior VA official at Athens, Georgia, VA Clinic)

Subject: Removal of the Basket With Christian Items in Athens CBOC Lobby

Date: July 14, 2023 at 10:04:47 AM PDT

To: "Mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org"

Good afternoon Mr. Weinstein,

Please accept my apologies for not getting this email sent out to you on yesterday after we spoke on the phone, but as you may or may not know, this clinic is one of our busiest clinics for the Augusta VA Medical Center. 

As you requested, and on behalf of the Veterans in our service area, I have removed the basket with the Christian items in it from our waiting room in the Athens Clinic. I also informed the Screener as well as the other MSAs in the Clinic to let the one lady who has been bringing those items in and leaving them, that she can no longer leave anything like that in the lobby per VA Regulation. We love our Veterans, and we are here to provide a service to them unconditionally no matter what the religion.

Thank you for being an Advocate for our Veterans, and please be sure to thank them for me for their service to our Great Nation and thank you for your service as well.

Please reach out to me if there is anything else that I can assist you with.

Respectfully,

(Senior VA official's name and titles withheld)

Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center

ATHENS CBOC

Athens, Georgia 30601

Email from retired Air Force officer, on behalf of himself and at least ten other veterans who receive care at the Athens, Georgia, VA Clinic, thanking MRFF for

getting the Christian proselytizing basket removed

"THANKS! Christian religious articles

at the Athens VA Clinic"

From: (Veteran’s name withheld)

Date: July 13, 2023 at 1:18:23 PM MDT

To: Mikey Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org>

Subject: THANKS! Christian religious articles at the Athens VA Clinic

Dear Mikey,

I contacted you yesterday afternoon about a religious display I had just seen at the Athens VA clinic. I am astonished that despite other urgent matters affecting MRFF, you had VA management remove that offensive display in less than 24 hours – and you were assured such displays are prohibited. 

Thank you on behalf of at least 10 other concerned veterans (seven I believe are Christian) who are patients at this excellent clinic. 

Sincerely,

(Name withheld)

LTC USAF (Ret)

A few other recent examples of MRFF's

advocacy on behalf of veterans facing Christian proselytizing at VA medical facilities

MILITARY TIMES

COVERS MRFF

Ban on troops communicating with

religious freedom group clears House

By: Jaime Moore-Carrillo

Friday, July 14, 2023

Military Times covers the House's passage on Friday of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) containing GOP Rep. Turner's amendment to shut MRFF down, writing:

"The amendment, slipped into the House version of the defense authorization bill by Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, would forbid service members from contacting the Military Religious Freedom Foundation or its leadership. The legislation would also bar commanders from taking 'any action or mak[ing] any decision as a result of any claim, objection or protest' made by the group 'without the authority of the Secretary of Defense.'"

Christian nationalist GOP Representative Mike Turner's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), designed 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 PASSED THE BILL ON FRIDAY WITH TURNER’S DESPICABLE, VINDICTIVE, AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT STILL 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.

"It is a sad day!"

From: (name withheld)

Subject: It is a sad day!

Date: July 14, 2023 at 4:21:44 PM PDT

To: M Weinstein <mikey@militaryreligiousfreedom.org>

Mikey,

I can’t believe I spent 30 years sacrificing my personal freedoms and family time, putting myself in harms way only to have one of the basic rights I thought I was fighting for taken away by a religious zealot! If I was on active duty I certainly would challenge having my right to free speech taken away by some ass in congress!

I know the military can be controlled using the Hatch Act and there are good reasons the law exists. But this is just a bunch of whiny military leaders who can’t bear to follow the rules inciting congress to control free speech, of military folks.

Maybe it is time to make the Aliyah to Israel! Especially if Trump gets back in the White House!

Regards,

(name withheld)