By First Liberty Institute communications BRAGG, NC—First Liberty Institute has responded to new charges against its client, Chaplain Scott Squires, by an Army investigator—acting under the command of MG Kurt Sonntag—recommending that the chaplain be found guilty of “dereliction of duty” for taking three business days to reschedule a marriage retreat he was prohibited from facilitating. “The United States Army, acting under the command of Major General Sonntag, is threatening to punish one of its chaplains because he followed the rules,” said Mike Berry, Deputy General Counsel and Director of Military Affairs to First Liberty. “The Army, or Congress, must hold Major General Sonntag accountable for allowing this aggressive anti-religious hostility against its military chaplains to occur under his command.” The investigation follows a complaint that Chaplain Squires discriminated against a same-sex couple when he quickly rescheduled a marriage retreat his chaplain endorsing agency, the North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), prevents its chaplains from facilitating. Despite Department of Defense (DOD) regulations that require chaplains to adhere to their endorsers’ rules and religious … [Read more...]