Marine Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling
By Ryan Velez
In a decision called “ridiculous” by
her representative, a Marine has lost her federal appeal after being
court-martialed for refusing to take down biblical verses from her desk,
reports The Daily Mail.
Marine Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling
lost a 2014 court-martial at her base in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina,
largely after her refusal to remove said verses. While she challenged
this action in federal court, on Wednesday, she was told that she had
lost after it was ruled that the order was not a “substantial burden” on
her First Amendment rights.
“We reject the argument that every
interference with a religiously motivated act constitutes a substantial
burden on the exercise of religion,” said the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Armed Forces, the highest military court, in a 4-1 decision.
“In this case, the record does not
clearly address whether (Sterling’s) conduct was based on a ‘sincerely
held religious belief’ or motivated by animosity toward her chain of
command,” it added. “Military orders are presumed to be lawful and are
disobeyed at the subordinate’s peril.”
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Source: AllChristianNews.com (via Your Black World News)
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