Wicker Commends Air Force Decision to Uphold Religious Liberty

Press Release

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today commended the U.S. Air Force for upholding the religious liberty protections of Colonel Leland B.H. Bohannon. Col. Bohannon was the subject of an Equal Opportunity (EO) complaint after he refused to sign a certificate of appreciation for the same sex spouse of an Airman in his command. Col. Bohannon cited his sincerely held religious beliefs in an appeal to the Director of the Air Force Review Boards Agency. The Air Force upheld Col. Bohannon's appeal and ruled that he did not unlawfully discriminate when he asked a more senior officer to sign the document.

"I am glad the Air Force has decided to uphold the right of Col. Bohannon to exercise his sincerely held religious views on the sanctity of marriage," Wicker said. "This decorated officer went above and beyond to find a reasonable and compassionate solution that balanced his deeply held religious views with his desire to respect the service of a retiring Airman under his command."

Senator Wicker joined seven other senators in calling upon the Secretary of the Air Force, Heather Wilson, to come to the defense of Col. Bohannon after the senators learned of the nature of the complaint against him. You can read the full text of the senators' letter here.

Senator Wicker has been an active supporter of efforts to preserve religious freedoms in the U.S. military. In March, Wicker led a group of senators opposing the appointment of a "secular humanist" to the U.S. Navy's Chaplain Corps, citing the incompatibility of a self-avowed atheist with the distinctly religious role the Navy's chaplains carry out. The Navy rejected the application.

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