ACLU Threatens to Deny Navy Midshipmen Their First Amendment Rights

The American Civil Liberties Union, which was founded during World War I by former communist Roger Nash Baldwin, has a limited understanding of what First Amendment freedom of religion consists of. The first amendment reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The ACLU feels that the amendment only protects atheists. The conveniently ignore the part where it says "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof".

So, in their latest salvo in their war against religion, the commies are targeting the midshipmen at Annapolis, trying to deny them the right to pray at lunch time:

The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue the U.S. Naval Academy unless it abolishes its daily lunchtime prayer, saying that some midshipmen have felt pressured to participate.
In a letter to the Naval Academy, Deborah Jeon, legal director for the ACLU of Maryland, said it was "long past time" for the academy to discontinue the tradition. She said the practice violates midshipmen's freedom to practice religion as their conscience leads them.
The Naval Academy rejected the ACLU's request that the prayer be eliminated.
"The academy does not intend to change its practice of offering midshipmen an opportunity for prayer or devotional thought during noon meal announcements," the university said in a statement. It said that some form of prayer has been offered for midshipmen at meals since the school's founding, in 1845, and that it is "consistent with other practices throughout the Navy."
Nine midshipmen have complained to the ACLU about the practice, Jeon said yesterday. Some have since graduated. One recent graduate, an agnostic who objected to the chaplain-led prayer, said she felt pressured to take part in it.
"Everybody else is participating with their heads bowed and their arms crossed," the midshipman said in an interview. "It became very obvious that you aren't participating."
The midshipman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she feared her military career might be affected, said she went along with the practice at first because she didn't want to stand out. But she stopped in her third year and stood at parade rest instead of bowing her head and crossing her arms.

That's the attitude of the left: "Free speech for me but not for thee", "Freedom of religion for me but not for thee".

As for those midshipmen who didn't want to pray: Deal with it. The Christians at Annapolis are not forcing you to pray. Don't force them to refrain from praying.