Restoring Faith Under Fire: How a 5-Year Legal Battle Brought Scripture Back to Military Dog Tags
By Maya Lin-Takahashi
The operation ran into formal opposition in mid-2019. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), an advocacy organization founded by Michael Weinstein, sent formal complaints to the Department of Defense. MRFF asserted that affixing Department of Defense trademarks onto items bearing specific religious scripture created an unconstitutional appearance of government endorsement of Christianity.
The military branches responded swiftly. By December 2019, the Army Trademark Licensing Program notified Vaughan that his commercial license would not be renewed unless all religious verses were permanently stripped from items carrying Army marks. The Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps issued similar directives shortly thereafter.
Vaughan refused to strip the text, pointing out that the military branches routinely licensed their insignia to secular novelty manufacturers, alcoholic beverage makers, and lifestyle brands. Stripping Bible verses about strength while allowing commercial novelties struck Vaughan and his legal counsel as unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment. In December 2021, First Liberty Institute filed a federal lawsuit on Vaughan's behalf, initiating four years of litigation across federal administrative channels.
Maya is a hardware enthusiast who tests and reviews smart home devices, smartphones, wearables, and audio gear. She focuses on practical consumer value and build quality.
