What kind of world do we live in?
Here's a Marine who joined the military to fight and defend the Constitution and in so doing deprived of her own first amendment rights.
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Outrage after US Marine is convicted by a court martial for refusing to remove a Bible quote from her work station
Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling was convicted in February 2014 at a court martial after not following orders to take down verse from her work station
The passage from the Old Testament was taped to the computer on her desk and read: 'No weapons formed against me shall prosper'
Sterling was given a reduction in rank from lance corporal to private, and she was also given a bad conduct discharge
Religious liberty law firm, Liberty Institute, and former US Solicitor General Paul Clement have taken up her case and filed an appeal
They plan to argue that a law protecting free exercise of religion should have been applied to her case
Sterling is now unemployed and searching for a job
A religious liberty law firm has taken up a US Marine's appeal case after she was prosecuted for refusing to remove a Bible verse taped to her computer.
Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling was convicted last year at a court martial when she did not follow orders to take down the small trips of paper with the Old Testament scripture displayed on her desk.
At the time of the incident in May 2013, she was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina when she taped the slightly altered Bible verse in three different places that read: 'No weapons formed against me shall prosper,' according to Fox News.
Sterling, who is now unemployed and searching for a job, was given a reduction in rank from lance corporal to private, as well as a bad conduct discharge.
Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling (pictured above) was convicted last year at a court martial after not following orders to take down the passage from the Old Testament (pictured right) displayed on her desk while stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina
'If the government can order a Marine not to display a Bible verse, they could try and order her not to get a religious tattoo, or go to church on Sunday,' said Liberty Institute attorney Michael Berry.
'Restricting a Marine's free exercise of religion is blatantly unconstitutional.'
The Liberty Institute and former US Solicitor General Paul Clement have filed an appeal regarding Sterling's case to the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
They plan to argue that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act should have been applied to her case, which protects free exercise of religion.
However, both the trial and appellate court said the law did not apply to her case because displaying a Bible verse does not constitute religious exercise, according to Liberty Institute.
The court found the verbiage of the displayed verse 'could easily be seen as contrary to good order and discipline,' according to a court document.
'The military judge found that the signs verbiage was biblical in nature, that the desk was shared with another Marine, and the signs were visible to other Marines who came to the appellant's desk for assistance,' the court said.
'The implication is clear—the junior Marine sharing the desk and the other Marines coming to the desk for assistance would be exposed to biblical quotations in the military workplace.
Yikes…God forbid!!!
'It is not hard to imagine the divisive impact to good order and discipline that may result when a service member is compelled to work at a government desk festooned with religious quotations, especially if that service member does not share that religion.'
Really…They didn’t seem to have a problem with Nidal Hassan sharing his religious beliefs when emailing Anwar al-Awlaki
The Liberty Institute and former US Solicitor General Paul Clement have filed an appeal regarding Sterling's case to the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. They plan to argue that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act should have been applied to her case, which protects free exercise of religion
Sterling was found guilty on February 1, 2014 of failing to go to her appointed place of duty, disrespect towards a superior commissioned officer and four specifications of disobeying the lawful order of a non-commissioned officer, the court document said.
This was after the Christian Marine displayed the Bible verse and was ordered by Staff Sergeant Alexander to remove it because the servicemember did not like the tone.
Sterling defended her actions saying it was her First Amendment right to display it and refused to take them down.
The following day, she found that the supervisor had removed the displayed passages, the court document said.
Berry pointed out that other Marines were given the freedom to decorate their desks but the lower courts did not allow that evidence to be admitted, according to Fox News.
He also said Sterling was not sharing a desk at the time of the incident.
'This is a very scary time when you are not allowed to have a very small printed Bible verse in your own personal workspace because it might offend other Marines,' Liberty Institute attorney Hiram Sasser told Fox News.
'Our Marines are trained to deal with some of the most hostile people on the planet. I don't think they are afraid of tiny words on a tiny piece of paper.'
