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HR 283
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Sub. H. R. No. 283 As Reported by the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee

As Reported by the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee

130th General Assembly

Regular Session

2013-2014

Sub. H. R. No. 283

Representative Young

Cosponsors: Representatives Adams, J., Beck, Becker, Buchy, Derickson, Hood, Thompson, Johnson, Retherford, Rosenberger

A RESOLUTION

To urge the United States Congress and the United States Department of Defense to protect and uphold the religious and free speech rights of military service members.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

       WHEREAS, In contrast to civilian society, the military operates under a unique set of rules in order to maintain discipline, to ensure unit cohesion, and to achieve military objectives; and

       WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States guarantees the religious and free speech rights of our uniformed service members as those individuals frequently are isolated from their religious communities and lack opportunities for extended personal religious exercise; and

       WHEREAS, Officers of the Armed Forces, including the Ohio National Guard, are sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States; and

       WHEREAS, Participation in religious services offered by the military is voluntary, and those who choose not to attend are not punished; and

       WHEREAS, No uniformed service member should be denied the very rights for which they are willing to give their lives; and

       WHEREAS, Recent events in the United States Armed Forces around the country demonstrate that religious and free speech rights of our military service members have been unconstitutionally treated, as demonstrated in the following nonexhaustive list of examples:

       (1) In 2012, United States military recruits were presented a detailed equal opportunity training brief that expressly listed Catholicism and Evangelical Christianity as examples of religious extremism alongside such groups as Al Qaeda, Hamas, and the KKK;

       (2) The United States Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center released a study linking those that believe in the sanctity of human life to terrorism;

       (3) The Bible has been purged from Air Force Inn checklists;

       (4) The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office removed a reference to God in its logo on its official patch;

       (5) At the national cemetery in Houston, Texas, Christian prayers were prohibited at funeral services for military veterans;

       (6) Distribution of Bibles was temporarily banned at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center;

       (7) Catholic chaplains were prohibited from reading a letter to parishioners from their archbishop regarding the Department of Health and Human Services contraception mandate; and

       (8) Two chaplains filed a complaint against the Department of Veterans Affairs because of harassment, having been told not to quote scripture in their chaplaincy training class; and

       WHEREAS, No element of our military can constitutionally penalize or otherwise prohibit religious expression merely because it offends another; and

       WHEREAS, The readiness of our military is weakened when members' ability to exercise their legitimate rights to religious expression are abridged; and

       WHEREAS, Recent acts impeding the religious expression of uniformed service members has caused unnecessary contention and disruption in the ranks; and

       WHEREAS, What happens within our armed services as a whole has an inextricable impact upon the Ohio National Guard, especially when Ohio National Guard units are operating under national command; now therefore be it

       RESOLVED, That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the State of Ohio, urge the United States Congress and the United States Department of Defense to protect and uphold the religious and free speech rights of military service members; and be it further

       RESOLVED, That we, the members of the House of Representatives of the State of Ohio, urge the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to respect the freedom of military veterans to practice and express their faith; and be it further

       RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the House of Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this resolution to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the members of the Ohio Congressional delegation, the United States Secretary of Defense, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and the news media of Ohio.