An ex-Navy chaplain who was
elected as a Colorado state legislator despite believing President Obama is
possessed by demons has lost an appeal of his discharge from the Navy.
The court of Federal Claims rejected
the claims of State Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt for back pay and reinstatement
in the Navy under the Tucker Act after he was kicked out for disobeying an
order not to wear his uniform while praying in Jesus name in 2006 in a
Washington, D.C., park outside the White House.
Court ruling
Court ruling
Klingenschmitt tried an
on-the-air exorcism of Obama, though presumably God would have had access even
if it was done privately.
The former chaplain is the
leader of a group and hosts a Web site intent on removing the demons that
possess homosexuals, http://www.prayinjesusname.org.
Klingenschmitt accused of a
gay Democrat congressman from Boulder, Colo., of seeking to execute Christians.
The claim was withdrawn.
Slate reported Klingenschmitt
said gays could not be allowed on the battlefield because they would have to
change their diapers after having anal sex.
The Web site did not mention
this week’s decision, and Klingenschmitt, who will represent a Colorado Springs
district, did not answer a request for a comment.
Klingenschmitt sought his
re-instatement and back pay claiming he was removed for praying in Jesus name,
which he said would be a violation of his free speech and religious rights.
A senior Navy official
familiar with the case said the decision against Klingenschmitt had nothing to
do with the prayer.
“Klingenschmitt received a
Special Court Martial and was charged with “disobedience of a lawful order” and
was convicted by that Special Court,” said the official.
“There were those within the
command who thought that he should have received a General Court Martial under
which if found guilty the sentencing would have been much more severe, (e.g.
confinement and less than honorable discharge).
Instead the Navy settled for
removing him, and allowing him an honorable discharge. A $3,000 fine was dismissed.
Mikey Weinstein, an Air
Force Academy graduate, considers Klingenschmitt one of the most extreme examples
of fundamentalist Christians to breach the bar of separation of church in the
state.
Weinstein founded a group,
the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which has been nominated for a Nobel
prize for its efforts to make sure the U.S. does not come under the influence
of Christians, particularly now that the nation is threatened by Islamic
jihadists.
Weinstein, a lawyer, has pressured the military to separate the military from
religion, forcing numerous changes.
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