What a crock of crap

[lilredhunter]

Firm Will Remove Bible References From Gun Sights
Link to article
WASHINGTON -- A Michigan defense contractor will voluntarily stop stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights made for the U.S. military, a major buyer of the company's gear.

In a statement released Thursday, Trijicon of Wixom, Mich., says it is also providing to the armed forces free of charge modification kits to remove the Scripture citations from the telescoping sights already in use. Through multimillion dollar contracts, the Marine Corps and Army have more than 300,000 Trijicon sights.

The references to Bible passages raised concerns that the citations break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are predominantly Muslim countries.

A spokesman for U.S. Central Command initially said the Trijicon sights didn't violate the ban and compared the citations on the sights to the "In God We Trust" inscription printed on U.S. currency.

On Thursday, however, Army Gen. David Petraeus, Central Command's top officer, called the practice "disturbing."

"This is a serious concern to me and the other commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan," Petraeus told an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

New Zealand announced Thursday that they would remove the citations from the sights they have, and Australia, which also uses the sights, is assessing what to do.

New Zealand defense force spokesman Maj. Kristian Dunne said Trijicon would be instructed to remove the inscriptions from further orders of the gun sights for New Zealand and the letters would be removed from gun sights already in use by troops.

The inscriptions are not obvious and appear in raised lettering at the end of the stock number. Trijicon's rifle sights use tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, to create light and help shooters hit what they're aiming for.

Markings on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, which is standard issue to U.S. special operations forces, include "JN8:12," a reference to John 8:12: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,'" according to the King James version of the Bible.

The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," the King James version reads.

Photos posted on a Defense Department Web site show Iraqi forces training with rifles equipped with the inscribed sights.

Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said in a letter sent Thursday to President Barack Obama that the gun sights "clearly violate" the rule against proselytizing. Gaddy added that "images of American soldiers as Christian crusaders come to mind when they are carrying weaponry bearing such verses."

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, contacted The Associated Press last week about the Scripture citations. He said he had received complaints from active-duty and retired members of the military. Weinstein said he couldn't identify them because they fear retaliation.

The company's practice of putting Bible references on the sites began nearly 30 years ago by Trijicon's founder, Glyn Bindon, who was killed in a plane crash in 2003. His son Stephen, Trijicon's president, has continued the practice.

"Trijicon has proudly served the U.S. military for more than two decades, and our decision to offer to voluntarily remove these references is both prudent and appropriate," Stephen Bindon said in the statement.

The statement does not provide an estimate on the removal costs. A company spokesman did not return a telephone call.

The company is also making the same offer to military in other countries that have purchased Trijicon's rifle sights.

An Army spokesman said Thursday the service was unaware of the coded biblical references until a few days ago.

"It is not the policy of the Army or the Department of Defense to put religious references of any kind on its equipment," Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings said.

Marine Corps spokeswoman Capt. Geraldine Carey said the service "is making every effort to remove these markings from all of our scopes and will ensure that all future procurement of these scopes will not have these types of markings."

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Associated Press writer Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

[1gewehr]

My Crystal Ball reveals that in just a few years Trijicon scopes WITH the bible references will be worth MORE than those without!!!

[RobertNashville]

Considering that Trijicon has been doing this for 30 years and has 300 thousand or so product in military hands, it would be interesting to know exactly why this is a problem now or if, perhaps, this has been simmering under the surface for a long time but is just now really getting attention.

In any event, if Trijicon simply did this and never revealed it to the military then the military has the right to demand the practice stop and the removal of the references at Trijicon’s expense. If, on the other hand, this has always been known by the military (in other words, either specifically approved and/or was part of the specifications approved by the military) then the military is essentially in breach of their contract with Trijicon and, while they (the military) can remove the reference, it should be at the military’s expense; not Trijicon’s.

Of course, I wouldn't be the least surprised that for Trijicon, their choices were to either comply or likely face bankruptcy.

Bottom line is, when a business plays with the government, they have to play by the government’s rules and the more a business depends on government contracts the more they have to bow to the whims of government bureaucrats.

[Dan Lee]

Mark 8:38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.

Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (Mat 10:33)


If they believe that the Holy Spirit told them to put those inscriptions on their product, then they should stand their ground. Disobeying God is disastrous always.. The Government is Not God. If the Military doesn't like it, they can remove them themselves.. Of course this is all a part of Satan's plan to destroy this nation from the inside out, using evil people in Government & the poison of Political Correctness that killed & wounded disarmed soldiers at Ft Hood.. As for me, I need a nice scope, so if they keep the inscription on their scopes, I'll buy one of theirs when I do.

[TacticaLogic]

Just checked my Reflex II...

2 Cor. 4:6
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Personally, I have thought several times that it would be appropriate to have Psalm 144:1 engraved on the side of my M4:
Praise be to the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.

Mike

[backwoodsman]

It's a problem for atheists and muslims, and I could care less for either opinion, this country was founded on the words In God we trust, and I do, and If they don't I suggest they move, ! I'm tired of slackers and those with the intention of taking over subverting our constitution, so,, they can take a long walk on a short cliff for all I care

[johnharris]

++ Barry.