NYT/AP: Judge's Ruling Upholds Air Force Academy on Religious Issue [View All]

Ruling Upholds Air Force on Religious Issue
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 28, 2006

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (AP) — A federal judge on Friday threw out a lawsuit against the Air Force that contended that evangelical Christian values were being illegally pushed on academy cadets.

An academy graduate said he would appeal the decision by the judge, James A. Parker of Federal District Court in Albuquerque. “Our fight is far from over,” said the graduate, Mikey Weinstein of Albuquerque.

The case was brought by Mr. Weinstein and other Air Force Academy graduates who contended that a military chaplain had violated their right to religious freedom by urging cadets to attend Christian services or face “the fires of hell.” That incident, the group asserted, reflected a broader policy of efforts to evangelize members of the Air Force.

But Judge Parker said the graduates could not claim that their First Amendment rights were violated, because they no longer attended the academy. Moreover, he said, the group failed to give specific examples of which cadets had been harmed, or when....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/28/washington/28academy.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1162098019-SPWiHe5BqiZlOyaji6+OXw