Marine discharged after refusing to remove a Bible verse taped near her cubicle has her day in court

[rug]

Monifa Sterling

By Thomas Gibbons-Neff
April 27 at 10:00 AM

A Marine discharged for failing to remove a Bible verse posted in her work area will have her case appealed in the military’s highest court Wednesday. Her attorneys believe her case could have wide-ranging implications for how the military approaches religious freedoms.

In 2014, Lance Cpl. Monifa J. Sterling was convicted in a court-martial at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Her charges included disrespecting a superior commissioned officer and four counts of disobeying a lawful order. She was reduced in rank, and her discharge will follow her the rest of her life, making her ineligible for veterans benefits such as the G.I. Bill. Her initial appeal was denied last year by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals, but it will now go before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

The Marine Corps did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sterling’s court-martial and subsequent sentencing stemmed from a single Bible verse she had taped three times in various locations around her cubicle. She was charged after refusing to take down the verse after her supervisor, a staff sergeant, ordered her to. According to court documents, her supervisor found the language “combative.” The verse, “No weapon formed against me shall prosper,” is a riff on Isaiah 54:17. The original reads: “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/04/27/punished-marine-gets-religious-liberty-case-heard-in-militarys-highest-court/

[msongs]

1. the good news is that weapons used BY her against others WILL prosper nt

[underthematrix]

2. The High Court should uphold the lower court.

Maybe she should have memorized this scripture . . . Matthew 22:21 Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

[rug]

3. I think you're right.

The insubordination charge should stick, regardless of the religious argument.

[awoke_in_2003]

4. If you cannot obey lawful orders...

you probably don't belong in the military. When you join, you voluntarily give away some of your freedom.

[rug]

5. The first right lost is the right to express an opinion, religious or otherwise.

[Major Nikon]

6. You don't have to check all your rights at the door when you enter

I suspect this case will either rise or fall on whether or not she communicated this as an expression of religion.

[cleanhippie]

7. As a retired navy vet, I've seen this situation before.

Religious zealot covers their workspace in religious stuff (and usually talk about it incessantly) co-workers complain, supervisor directs zealot to cease and desist the prosetylizing and take down religious stuff because it's creating a hostile work environment, then they complain their religious freedom is being taken away.

Just like in the civilian world.

[Major Nikon]

8. That's a little different situation

Just posting religious symbols or other religion related things in one's own personal space should not be disallowed. Prosetylizing or posting religion related items in public areas may be prohibited.

[cleanhippie]

9. After rereading the article, it appears this is only an issue now because she never raised the

Religious aspect of it until now, after it went to courts- martial and she was discharged.

My money says a religious group is behind this now.