A Texas company that was barred from making military-style religious dog tags is suing the Department of Defense to overturn this decision.
The First Liberty Institute filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas last week on behalf of the company Shields of Strength, which had its license to use military logos revoked following a 2019 complaint from the watchdog group Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is named as a defendant in the suit, which claims that the Pentagon’s policy that “DOD marks may not be licensed for any purpose intended to promote … religious beliefs” violates the First Amendment.
“It’s a cruel insult to our service members to deny them a source of inspiration, hope, and encouragement simply because it contains a religious message,” said Mike Berry, general counsel for First Liberty Institute. “DOD officials caved to the empty threats of those who make their living by being offended. There’s no legal reason for the military to discriminate against Shields of Strength.”
Michael Weinstein, the president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told the Washington Times that DOD “regulations make it clear that the licensee cannot advance any partisan political or religious type of perspective, and that clearly is the case here.”
Kenny Vaughan, the owner of Shields of Strength, rebuked the Defense Department’s effort to prevent these dog tags during a weekend appearance on Fox News.
“It’s the most selfish thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said. “A lot of those dog tags we made, those guys still have them, guys and gals. Unfortunately, a lot of them are hanging around the necks of Gold Star family members to remind them of the courage their own family members had in battle. Why would anyone ever be so selfish?”
Vaughn and his wife, Tammie, started their company more than 20 years ago and have sold or donated over 4 million dog tags since then.
The plaintiffs are hoping the judge will rule that the Defense Department’s actions violate the First Amendment.
