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Hello MRFF friends and supporters.
As most of you already know quite well, we at MRFF have recently had our substantial and singular impact in successfully fighting against the fundamentalist Christian nationalists permeating our military, VA, and national security agencies 100% confirmed by our most visible foes and enemies.
Indeed, we found out in late June of this year that the MAGA-Christian nationalist Republicans in the United States House of Representatives had crafted an amendment (The “Turner Amendment”) to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) specifically designed to essentially “assassinate MRFF by legislation.” This wholly unconstitutional amendment would have literally made it a felony under the military’s Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for anyone at DoD to even reach out to us for help in fighting religious persecution within the ranks.
Since that time, MRFF has been working tirelessly to stop this MRFF-assassination legislation from becoming part of the final negotiated Defense Bill in the joint conference process between the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate in Congress.
As you may have been seeing in the media, that complex negotiation process, which was supposed to be completed by September 30, has only recently reached apparent completion within the last couple of days or so. There are many contentious and controversial parts to this year’s NDAA, which, along with the conference report, is over 3,000 pages in length. The part designed by the MAGA-fundamentalist Christian nationalists to eliminate MRFF, the “Turner Amendment,” is right there in the midst of that very often toxic legislative bargaining maelstrom.
I do want to say that there is some reason to be cautiously optimistic, as the Democrat-controlled Senate has amended the GOP-controlled House's “Turner Amendment.” Only time will tell, though. It seems likely that the final bill might be signed off by both Houses of Congress as early as next week, right before Congress takes its annual winter holiday recess, but we are hardly out of the woods yet. Both the full House and full Senate still need to actually complete their respective votes on the final bill. Then, of course, it goes to President Biden for final review and signing. Only then will we be able to breathe a sigh of relief.
So, in the end, there is still much room for many things to happen before we can feel that MRFF will emerge unscathed in this byzantine and often maddening legislative process.
But as I said at the beginning of this statement, the mere fact that these MAGA crazies are singling out MRFF — and ONLY MRFF — to the utter exclusion of all other civil rights organizations (hell, to the utter exclusion of ANY other organization in American or Congressional history!), for total annihilation and destruction clearly sends a vital message. Indeed, it only further buttresses the incontrovertible degree to which MRFF has been incredibly successful for our nearly 86,000 (and counting) clients in fortifying the wall of separation between church and state for almost 20 years now at DoD, the VA, the 17 national security agencies, DHS (U.S. Coast Guard), and DOT (U.S. Maritime Service).
Thank you for always having our backs in this often terribly brutal civil rights struggle. We’re winning each and every day only because of your selfless and gracious support.
As soon as we hear and confirm any more relevant news as to the foregoing, we will let you all know ASAP!
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