[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13215]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       MILITARY RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

  (Mr. FLEMING asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLEMING. Madam Speaker, the constitutional right to religious 
liberty is, with increasing frequency, being denied to the men and 
women in our military who swore to support and defend the Constitution 
when they enlisted.
  Within the past month, we have seen a new case of an Air Force 
veteran who says he was relieved of duty by his commander because he 
would not champion same-sex marriages. This senior master sergeant with 
19 years of service to his country has now been entangled in the 
military justice system, not for anything he has done or said, but for 
refusing a commander's order to make a statement that would violate his 
deeply held religious beliefs.
  What's happening in this case violates current statutes, not to 
mention the First Amendment. That's why it's so crucial that Congress 
protect military religious freedom and its expression. My amendment to 
do that was passed in this House, and we need the Senate to act and the 
President to stop his threat to veto.

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