This was a clear victory for religious freedom!

Col. Bohannon is a war hero. He has flown combat missions in the Middle East and he is the recipient of the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and the Air Medal. His extraordinary leadership put him on the path to promotion to one star general. But, instead of a promotion, he was suspended and his promotion jeopardized.

What was his crime? He declined to sign a “certificate of spouse appreciation” for a retiring master sergeant’s same-sex spouse due to his deeply held religious beliefs about marriage, but went out of his way to get a 2 star general to sign in his stead.

His unfair punishment moved Members of Congress to send a strong letter in his defense. Also, the CPCF sent a letter to encourage the Air Force to reconsider their actions.

First Liberty Institute quickly engaged to provide the legal defense of Col. Bohannon. After a long awaited decision, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson announced yesterday that the director of the Air Force Review Boards Agency ruled in favor of the colonel.

“The director concluded that Colonel Bohannon had the right to exercise his sincerely held religious beliefs and did not unlawfully discriminate when he declined to sign the certificate of appreciation for the same sex spouse of an Airman in his command,” Secretary Wilson wrote in a letter to Rep. Vicky Hartzler. Secretary Wilson went on to say that Col. Bohannon did his duty to the airman by having a more senior officer sign the certificate.

We wish this was an isolated incident, but it is not. People are losing their businesses, facing lawsuits, being fined and fired for simply living according to their faith.

It is critical that we continue the fight for religious freedom. Together we will ensure that God, prayer and the Bible continue to have an essential place in America’s future.