Exonerated! SBC Chaplain Squires

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, September 7, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

There’s good news today! On August 24th, the Army exonerated Chaplain Scott Squires and his assistant Kacie Griffin by announcing rejection of all charges against them. Chaplain Squires had been charged with dereliction of duty and sex-discrimination against a lesbian soldier. His assistant was facing charges for not immediately registering a female soldier who wanted to attend the marriage retreat with another enlisted female and identify as a same-sex couple.

Since same-sex marriage conflicts with his faith, the chaplain rescheduled the date of the retreat, so another chaplain could conduct it. After the soldier filed charges against them, Squires and Griffin were provided a defense attorney by the First Liberty Institute, a non-profit public interest law firm that, exclusively, defends religious freedom for all Americans.

After a four-month Army investigation of the incident, charges were announced August 1st, but three weeks later all charges were dismissed. Their attorney from First Liberty said: “We are grateful that the Army has rejected and abandoned these baseless charges. The U.S. military is no place for anti-religious hostility against its own military chaplains. Chaplains like Scott Squires and assistant Kacie Griffin do not have to give up their First Amendment rights in order to serve their fellow soldiers.”Former Army Chief of Chaplains Doug Carver explained, “The relationship between endorsed military chaplains and their ecclesiastical authority is sacrosanct and protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In a technical sense, military chaplains are ‘on loan’ to the Armed Forces from their respective faith groups, who, in turn, expect the military to be faithful stewards of our pastors in uniform.”

Opponents of religious liberty in the military believe chaplains should not uphold their endorser’s faith in the military and the military should not allow a chaplain’s faith to be protected in the military. Opponents of religious liberty lost this battle, but had they won, military policy could no longer protect chaplains’ religious expression. But the issue goes much beyond religious liberty for chaplains. The “bottom line” in this case has two points: (1) Opponents reject the right of religious entities, such as Southern Baptists, to require denominational chaplains to adhere to their religious beliefs. (2) Those same opponents want the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision to supersede everyone’s God-given and constitutionally-upheld right to express, reflect, and act upon religious doctrine on marriage.

Thankfully, right now, the threat has been stopped, but remember this, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent