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"Army Bans Faith-Based Company From Making Inspirational Dog Tags After Atheist Complaint"
"Shields of Strength (Shields), a private faith-based company, has been banned by the US Army from making replica dog tags with encouraging Bible verses or references for soldiers.
First Liberty Institute, a non-profit public interest law firm, sent a letter on Tuesday to the United States Army Trademark Licensing office urging it to allow the company to continue producing military-themed items such as replica 'dog tags' and jewelry.
The Army banned Shields, citing the 'negative press' it received after a complaint from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation ('MRFF'). Earlier this year, MRFF sent a letter to the Army threatening 'administrative and litigation complaints' to 'compel compliance' unless Shields stopped including religious references on its licensed products.
'You are not authorized to put biblical verses on your Army products,' Army Trademark Licensing Program Director Paul Jensen wrote to Shields owner Kenny Vaughan in August, according to a letter obtained by Fox News. 'For example, Joshua 1:9. Please remove ALL biblical references from all of your Army products.'
That Joshua 1:9 dog tag says, 'I will be strong and courageous - I will not be afraid - I will not be discouraged.'
In its letter responding to the Army, Frist Liberty argues that '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.'
'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,' Mike Berry, chief of staff for First Liberty Institute said in a press release. 'The MRFF 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.'"
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