In the latest example of social justice warriors gone berserk, people are offended that some dog tags have Bible verses on them. The Army has banned a private company, Shields of Strength, from making dog tags with biblical references thanks to bad press and a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.
The First Liberty Institute sent a letter to the United States Army Trademark Licensing office urging it to allow Shields of Strength to continue creating faith-based items.
“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, chief of staff for First Liberty Institute, in a statement. “The [Military Religious Freedom Foundation] is twisting the law in an attempt to deny Shields of Strength to military personnel. Army officials should just ignore the message of those who make their living by being offended.”
In their letter, First Liberty argued, “Once the government has created a limited public forum via a trademark licensing regime, it cannot ‘discriminate against speech on the basis of its viewpoint.’ The Army is therefore prohibited from discriminating against [Shields] because of its inclusion of biblical references on its products, in its advertisements, or on its website.”
On Fox News, the owner of Shields of Strength expressed his disappointment at the overreaction, since he and his wife have been crafting replica dog tags with Bible verses on them for 20 years. “I was shocked that there are groups in America that would go on the attack against Shields of Strength that have inspired millions of our fighting men and women and their loved ones,” said company founder Kenny Vaughan.
Shields of Strength has designed over 4 million dog tags since their beginning. During the Iraq War, they donated over 50,000 pieces a month to members of the military.
The Military Religious Freedom Foundation seems to be behind this juvenile campaign to restrict the rights of Shields of Strength to produce whatever materials it likes after a segment Fox News reported in July profiling Shields of Strength. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation complained to the military, claiming it “poisons the constitutionally-mandated separation of Church and State.” The next month, the Army Trademark Licensing Program director told Vaughan he was no longer “authorized to put biblical verses” on dog tags.
In an email, Hiram Sasser, general counsel to First Liberty Institute, said, “The Army is ignoring the Commander-in-Chief’s Executive Order requiring that the military ‘respect and protect the freedom of persons and organizations to engage in religious … speech.’ If the Secretary of the Army is aware of this case and hasn’t taken immediate action he should be fired.”
Shields of Strength is not violating the Constitution’s establishment clause in any way. In fact, this looks to be more of a publicity stunt on the part of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a punitive measure to hurt a company that has brought encouragement and inspiration to our nation’s members of the military. The fact that the Army piled on seems to be a misunderstanding both of Shields of Strength’s purpose and the Constitution’s establishment clause.
It’s astounding the lengths some organizations will go to in order to prevent the intersection of free speech, freedom of religion, and the flourishing of the free market: At the mere mention of religion within earshot of the state, or the military, and they shout, “Separation of church and state!” without understanding what that even means or would actually look like in reality.
A dog tag with a Bible verse might be many things — inspirational, unwanted, worn, or discarded — but it’s not a violation of the separation of church and state.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner‘s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
