First Liberty represents 35 U.S. Navy SEALs whose careers and livelihoods are being threatened because of their religious beliefs. Why? Because they chose not to get a vaccine due to their convictions of faith. And it’s not only the Navy SEALs themselves who face harassment, but also thousands of Navy service members.
Over the past year of fighting, First Liberty’s efforts helped lead to the repeal of the vaccine mandate. While Congress forced the Navy to repeal the mandate, we will continue to fight in the district court for the rights of our Nation’s finest warriors and the sailors they represent against the Navy’s religious discrimination.
Navy SEALs are brave and fierce fighters who dedicate years of their lives, sacrificing themselves physically and mentally to serve our nation and defend our liberties. Collectively, our clients have more than 350 years of military service and more than 100 combat deployment.
Plus, it costs millions of taxpayer dollars in training—approximately $2 million per Navy SEAL—to prepare the most elite fighting force on the face of the earth.
With the vaccine mandate repealed, commanders now hold all power over deployments and vaccination status. This means that many of our brave warriors could face second-class status, lack deployments and get passed on for advancement if they have a commander who doesn’t respect their religious beliefs.
While the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a disappointing opinion, in July of 2023, the Navy SEALs case is not over. The Court is sending the case back to the district court—and that means we have an opportunity to continue fighting.
America’s elite warriors deserve far better. Navy SEALs who chose to remain unvaccinated are every bit the brave, patriotic Americans as those who are vaccinated.
Just as America’s Navy SEALs never give up on their country when serving, we at First Liberty will never give up on our service members. They cannot speak up in public and need your support.
Thanks to YOU, First Liberty continues to be the greatest hope for victory for military service members, for the heroes and their families who sacrifice so much to protect our freedoms.
Please consider making a timely donation today. Your gift will help First Liberty’s legal team deliver a victory for the dozens of Navy SEALs who face the threat of second-class status.
Under federal law and DoD regulations,
service members have the legal
right to seek a religious accommodation
from any duty or requirement—including
vaccines—that substantially burdens their
sincerely held religious beliefs.Learn more
about your rights with this one-page resource
from First Liberty’s legal experts.
– First Liberty General Counsel, Mike Berry
The Pentagon has created a crisis unnecessarily by targeting service members with religious objections to the vaccine.
It defies logic that the Commander in Chief and military leaders would be so willing to bench some of our elite warriors. Instead of making us safer, threatening America’s Navy SEALs is detrimental to our national security.
The Pentagon’s approach is violative and insulting to every American who has served and died for these freedoms. It should instead respect the constitutional rights of our nation’s elite fighters and their families. Treating them as second class service members because they chose to live out their faith while serving their nation dishonors the sacrifices they make to keep us free.
As we prepare for the legal battle ahead, we want to thank you for standing strong alongside our Navy heroes. We could not have gotten this far or been this successful without your support. But we need your continued help.
We simply will not stand by while they face second-class status with potential losses to promotions, deployments and more.
They fought for us. It is time for us to fight for them. We need to let our heroes know that we have their back in this fight.
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