A WAR ON CHRISTMAS: Secularists Target Military Gravesites

As the war on Christmas returns, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is going after an organization called Wreaths Across America that lays wreaths on the tombstones of veterans. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation and their president have claimed that failure to achieve consent for these wreaths at military sites creates what they call Christian gang signs. The Christian gang symbol, according to them, is wreaths. Wreaths Across America have already laid about 30,000 wreaths in military gravesites across the country including at Arlington National Cemetery.

The President of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation Michael Weinstein said:

We’re not saying you can’t, but you cannot blanket it like that. That’s like carpet-bombing. That looks like it’s a Christian gang sign, that you’re creating territory that is a Christian territory.

A Christian gang sign? This is a tribute to the families of some of these veterans who aren’t even able to visit the gravesite of their loved ones. ACLJ Senior Military Analyst and former Colonel Wes Smith explained what this gesture of laying wreaths on the tombstones of veterans means for these families:

I have dealt literally with thousands of gold star family members. Many of them are buried in Arlington and at other national cemeteries. Because of where the cemeteries are located . . .  these family members, they do not get to visit their loved ones’ grave very often. I know from talking to them whether it is Wreaths Across America or the flags in that we do on Memorial Day, these families are so grateful that people remember their loved ones and that someone is placing something on the grave. It is touching, it means so very much to them. . . . Now, Arlington even allows them, they did not use to do this, when family members do get to visit, they can leave personal remembrances of their loved ones around the tombstone. . . . Because of so many people having died in the last 20 years in this war on terror, this is a very sensitive issue. Like I said, I know from talking to these family members, they are grateful for organizations like Wreaths Across America.

We will be sending a letter to the Director of Arlington Operations, the Chief of Chaplains, and the Chief of Staff of each branch of the military to respond to these claims. We also have a memorandum that outlines the law when it comes to the Constitution and the celebration of Christmas myths. This religious sensitivity is going on all around the world. We were able to score a victory at the local level. ACLJ Senior Counsel Christy Campagnone explained our recent case:

Someone contacted us who was working at a manufacturing facility and he was celebrating the 10 days of Awe as a Messianic Jew, and he had a Shabbat Shalom sign that also included those words in Hebrew at his personal workstation. Now, it was his private station, no one else was there. It was his own to display whatever he wanted. And there were several other employees at their workstations who displayed Halloween decorations and crosses . . . However, his supervisors specifically came to him and asked him to remove the Shabbat Shabach Shalom sign. 

Christy added what the ACLJ was able to quickly do for him in the information letter:

We explained under Title VII that this would be considered religious discrimination, and he brought it to the general manager of the entire company . . . and it was promptly taken under consideration and his right to keep that sign was restored. And in fact, the general manager went ahead and forwarded this to the Chief of HR for the entire company to make sure that all of the plants across the country are following and protecting the rights of their team members.

That tells you that one person standing up for their rights in one plant, in one town, ends up affecting the human rights display policy for a company with coast to coast locations. All it takes is one person or one organization, and we are here to do exactly that.

Today’s full Sekulow broadcast is complete with even more analysis of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation targeting military gravesites and a recent ACLJ victory.

Watch the full broadcast below.

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