Selected Article Excerpts:
- After consulting with legal experts and with headquarters, Travis Air Force Base will not remove the displays.
- The Military Religious Freedom Foundation, according to its website, is a group “dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom.”
- Representing the foundation, Katherine S. Ritchey wrote a letter to Travis Air Force Base Commander Col. Dwight Sones.
In the letter, she writes, “This conspicuous display of ritual objects is a clear endorsement of religion in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, and must either be removed from the premises or moved to a more appropriate location on the Air Force Base to ensure compliance with the United States Constitution.”
- Meanwhile, a different display was added to the group Monday morning.
According to Travis Air Force Base Public Affairs, an airman associated with an atheists organization asked to post a holiday card with the others at the intersection. Eventually this request was approved.
At 1 p.m. Monday, the Military Atheists and Secular Humanists (MASH) put up a display that reads, “Stay safe for the holidays from the atheists at Travis Air Force Base — MASH.
