Contact: Rich Hobson, Foundation for Moral Law, 334-262-1245, rich.hobson@morallaw.org
NORFOLK, Virginia, Sept. 11 /Christian Newswire/ -- Former Chief Justice Roy Moore will be testifying as a key defense witness in the special court-martial of Navy Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt at Norfolk N.A.S., Virginia, which will begin September 12, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. (EST) and is expected to run several days. Chief Justice Moore will arrive in Norfolk on September 12 and is expected to testify on September 13, 2006, about his involvement with a March 30, 2006 press conference, held in front of the White House in protest of the Navy’s new regulations restricting chaplain prayer, where Chaplain Klingenschmitt prayed in the name of Jesus while in uniform.
According to Chief Justice Moore, “Even the U.S. Supreme Court in 1931, in United States v. Macintosh, declared that we are a Christian people and that as such, God is the source of religious freedom, not man. The President should become involved to protect our chaplains in their right to pray in the name of Jesus. In so doing he would be upholding the religious freedom of all Americans.”
Chief Justice Moore and attorneys from the Foundation for Moral Law, of which Judge Moore is chairman, have since assisted Chaplain Klingenschmitt’s legal team with religious freedom and First Amendment issues in the case, and will be present at the court martial proceedings.
Chaplain Klingenschmitt has been at the center of an on-going controversy involving prayer in the armed services and the new Navy policy requiring chaplains to give only “non-sectarian” prayers at military command functions. This new policy contradicts the U.S. Code (10 U.S.C. Sec. 6031) which protects a chaplain’s right to conduct public worship according to the manner of his church. The case has far-reaching constitutional ramifications concerning religious freedom. Now the Navy has targeted Chaplain Klingenschmitt for praying in uniform at a press conference held to bring attention to the Navy’s restriction on the religious liberty of chaplains.
Chief Justice Moore will be a witness at the special court martial because he spoke on Chaplain Klingenschmitt’s behalf at the press conference conducted by the Foundation for Moral Law, which was joined by Faith & Action and Vision America.
The Foundation for Moral Law, a national non-profit legal organization, is located in Montgomery, Alabama, and is dedicated to restoring the knowledge of God in law and government through two methods: Litigation relating to moral issues and religious liberty cases; and Education consisting of forums for the public and pastors’ seminars.
More information about the Foundation for Moral Law is available at www.morallaw.org.
