TEXT OF CHAPS' WASHINGTON TIMES ARTICLE: CHAPLAINS STRUGGLE TO PROTECT 'PUBLIC WORSHIP' By Gordon James Klingenschmitt, exclusively for The Washington Times As originally submitted and printed on Page A19, edition May 7th, 2009 The fight to defend military chaplains right to pray publicly "in Jesus' name" continues, as two North Carolina Congressmen Walter Jones (R) and Mike McIntyre (D) lead another bi-partisan charge on Capitol Hill, introducing H.R. 268 in January, which clarifies an old 1860 law. "If called upon to lead a prayer outside of a religious service, a chaplain shall have the prerogative to close the prayer according to the dictates of the chaplain's own conscience," the new bill declares. The bill was deemed necessary due to recent legal attacks against the 1860 law, originally signed into military regulations by President Abraham Lincoln, now codified in US Code Title 10 Section 6031: "An officer in the Chaplain Corps may conduct 'public worship' according to the manner and forms of the church of which he is a member." Chaplains who respect that old law have come under fire by liberals redefining the scope of 'public worship.' Since complaining in 2005 about "too much Jesus" at the Air Force Academy, secular activist Mikey Weinstein lost his lawsuits, and gained little policy traction in his quest to prohibit freedom of expression by military Christians. His never-ending Inspector General complaints, offered on behalf of a handful of easily offended atheists, are routinely publicized by the New York Times, (including twice last month on March 1st 2009 "Questions Raised Anew About Religion in Military" and March 15th "Air Force Looks Into 'Inspirational' Video"). But NYT ironically failed to report that on March 30th the Air Force dismissed Weinstein's complaint against Colonel Kimberly Toney, who was cleared of any wrongdoing after sending an inspirational email to 3,000 subordinates. In 2006 the Air Force had temporarily mollified Mr. Weinstein, by issuing restrictive guidelines (reported by The Jewish Week, Feb 10th 2006, "Jesus Banned From Air Force Invocations"), and Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter signed regulations redefining 'public worship' as only safe inside Sunday chapel. The secular groups used those restrictions to proselytize the evangelicals, to convert or be punished with government sword. As an evangelical Navy chaplain at that time, I took a stand by personally violating those restrictions. I dared to pray 'in Jesus name' at a Thursday press conference outside the White House, and was court-martialed for 'worshiping in public' in uniform, since the Navy judge literally ruled that 'public worship' was protected, but 'worshiping in public' was not. But when 300,000 petitioners, 75 Congressmen, 35 pro-family groups, and 85% of polled voters expressed outrage on my behalf, President Bush signed the conference report to the 2007 Defense Authorization Act, passed by a (then) pro-faith Congress who rescinded the restrictive Air Force and Navy guidelines, restoring 'public worship' to its original broader meaning. Since 2007, all military chaplains are free again, on paper at least, to pray publicly 'in Jesus name' everywhere, seven days a week, even in uniform. That victory cost my career and pension, and was not grandfathered back to my case. Since those nation-wide restrictions were rescinded by Congress (which fact remains errantly unacknowledged by NYT reporters), other local restrictions have emerged. One Air Force commander in Oklahoma issued a base-wide ban on Jesus-prayers by chaplains, only to have that ban lifted by the next commander. A handful of evangelical Army chaplains reported religious harassment, and were not promoted by hostile commanders. And Rutherford Institute Attorney Art Schulcz, suing the Navy on behalf of 65 evangelical chaplains, lost a D.C. Appeals Court decision, which granted Catholic Priests retention well beyond the mandatory retirement age for Protestants. Last summer the ACLU threatened to sue Naval Academy Midshipmen to stop their noon-prayer tradition, ongoing since 1845. But 'Big Navy' and Department of Justice defend the students right to pray, led by rotating chaplains of diverse faiths: Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist. Outside the military, six Virginia State Troopers were forced to resign their voluntary chaplain jobs, when Democrat Governor Tim Kaine's administration ordered them to stop praying publicly 'in Jesus name.' With 76% of polled Virginians supporting the heroic chaplains, I organized 1,000+ citizens to rally outside the Governor's mansion, so the Virginia House voted 66-30 to restore police chaplains rights. But the Senate Committee, including Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Creigh Deeds defeated the bill, 8-6-1 along party lines, so the chaplains won't be reinstated, at least until Republican Bob McDonnell becomes Governor, since he pledged to help chaplains, if elected in November 2009. This uncertainty is compounded by two conflicting 2008 court rulings by the 4th and 11th Circuit Courts of Appeals. Respectively, Turner v. Fredericksburg ruled governments can mandate 'non-sectarian' prayer speech in government forums, but Pelphrey v. Cobb County ruled governments cannot censor anybody's prayers, ever. The tendency of local governments and commanders to make up their own conflicting policies leads Congress to re-examine the issue. Mr. Jones and Mr. McIntyre's bill lies on the table in the House Armed Services Committee.