We were told we could no longer say God bless you and God bless your family.
FoxNews.com
Three Houston veterans organizations -- the Veterans of Foreign Wars The American Legion & the National Memorial Ladies -- say the Department of Veterans Affairs is consistently censoring their prayers by banning them from saying the words God and Jesus during funeral services and allege that the Houston National Cemeterys director and other government officials have created religious hostility at the cemetery and are violating the 1st Amendment.
According to court documents filed this week in federal court the cemeterys director Arleen Ocasio has banned saying God at funerals and requires prayers be submitted in advance for government approval MyFoxHouston.com reports.
People are doing things out there that I feel like they shouldnt be Vietnam veteran Jim Rodgers told the website.
The Department of Veterans Affairs said in a statement that it respects every veteran and their familys right to burial service that honors their faith tradition. The department employs nearly 1000 chaplains who preside over religious burials according to the statement.
However the new allegations come one month after a controversy surrounding
Pastor Scott Raineys prayer in Jesus name at a Memorial Day service in the cemetery. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes ruled May 26 that the government couldnt stop Rainey from using the words Jesus Christ in his invocation. Hughes issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from censoring Raineys prayer.
The hostile and discriminatory actions by the Veterans Affairs officials in Houston are outrageous unconstitutional and must stop said Jeff Mateer an attorney with Liberty Institute which filed the original lawsuit on behalf of the veterans groups.
Government officials who engage in religious discrimination against citizens are breaking the law. Sadly this seems to be a pattern of behavior at the Houston VA National Cemetery.
Judge Hughes gave the government until July 15 to respond to the new allegations and set a status hearing for July 21 Mateer said.
We were told we could no longer say God bless you and God bless your family Marilyn Koepp a volunteer with the National Memorial Ladies told the website.
How did I feel? I probably shouldnt say how I felt because it was absolutely appalling that this woman would come aboard and tell us we cannot say God bless you.
