U.S. Army warned of 'hostility' to Christian firm making replica dog tags

(Image courtesy Pixabay)

U.S. Army officials have been warned that their "hostility" to a Christian company making replica dog tags is unconstitutional.

The Army's Trademark Licensing Program, and its director, Paul Jensen, have received a letter from First Liberty Institute on behalf of the private company that makes replica dog tags, jewelry and more.

The products from Shields of Strength, which is run by Kenny Vaughan and his wife, Tammie, are very popular with members of the U.S. military and others. More than 4 million have been made, and of thousands have been given to the U.S. military.

During the Iraq War, the company donated more than 50,000 pieces a month.

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The products from the private company contain a biblical verse reference.

For 20 years they've used the U.S. Army logo under license, as do other companies.

First Liberty explained the problem flared up when Army officials, pressured by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, barred the company from using the insignia under license without removing the Bible verses.

"It's a cruel insult to our service members to deny them a source of inspiration, hope, and encouragement simply because it contains a religious message," said Mike Berry of First Liberty.

"The MRFF is twisting the law in an attempt to deny Shields of Strength to military personnel. Army officials should just ignore the message of those who make their living by being offended," he said.

"I was shocked that there are groups in America that would go on the attack against Shields of Strength that have inspired millions of our fighting men and women and their loved ones," said Kenny Vaughan, owner of Shields of Strength. "I hope the Army sees that the very freedom our soldiers fight for is at stake."

The letter explains to the military that court precedents do not allow the Army to "discriminate against speech on the basis of its viewpoint."

"The Army is therefore prohibited from discriminating against [Shields] because of its inclusion of biblical references on its products, in its advertisements, or on its website," the First Liberty letter explained.

"Shields of Strength replica dog tags bear various military-themed emblems, logos, or insignia on one side and various faith-based messages such as Scripture verses or references on the other side. To date, the Vaughn’s have made over four million dog tags and given hundreds of thousands to the U.S. military and other ministries. During the Iraq War, they donated over 50,000 pieces a month and even fulfilled a single request for 30,000 pieces. Each branch of the military grants licenses to vendors to feature military trademarks on products," First Liberty said.

Then came the Army letter, after years of licensed logo use without incident, stating: "You are not authorized to put biblical verses on your Army products. For example Joshua 1:9. Please remove ALL biblical references from all of your Army products."

The Army letter cited an online letter from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation that threatened the Army if it didn't censor the biblical references.

"Your directive is unsupported by the law, and is, in fact, unconstitutional. We request you immediately rescind your unlawful directive and take immediate steps to clarify your policy to comport with the United States Constitution and federal law," the First Liberty letter responded.

It pointed out one such precedent recently was affirmed by the Supreme Court, where Justice Samuel Alito wrote, "A government that roams the land … scrubbing away any reference to the divine will strike many as aggressively hostile to religion."

First Liberty asked the Army to correct its position, in writing, so that it does not need to "take any and all necessary legal action."