The Air Force has affirmed the religious rights of a colonel who claimed he was wrongly disciplined for refusing to sign a certificate of appreciation for the same-sex spouse of one of his airmen last year.
The Air Force said that Col. Leland Bohannon “had the right to exercise his sincerely held religious beliefs and did not unlawfully discriminate when he declined to sign the certificate,” according to a letter sent Monday by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to members of Congress who supported Bohannon.
“The Air Force has a duty to treat people fairly and without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, or sexual orientation and (Bohannon) met that duty by having a more senior officer sign the certificate,” Wilson said.
First Liberty Institute, the religious liberties group representing Bohannon, announced the decision Monday on its website, posting the letter from Wilson to Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo.
Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., posted a similar letter he received from Wilson on his Twitter account.
The Air Force Review Boards Agency granted Bohannon’s appeal, Wilson said in her letter, noting his records would be corrected.
“The Air Force places a high value on the rights of its members to observe the tenets of their respective religions or to observe no religion at all,” Wilson said.
A 1994 Air Force Academy graduate and decorated combat pilot, Bohannon had been stripped of command of the Air Force Inspection Agency at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and removed from consideration for a promotion to brigadier general after the Air Force found that his actions violated service regulations.
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