Story out of Phoenix, Arizona:
A Department of Veterans Affairs employee says he was humiliated and led away by VA police last week after he questioned unlawful religious proselytizers who were handing out Bibles at the federal hospital in central Phoenix.
Jesse Gonzales, a dental assistant at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center, says he was on a break Oct. 20, walking down a corridor, when three men at a table offered him a free Bible.
Gonzales, an Air Force veteran, says he politely refused and proceeded into the canteen to purchase a snack. However, when he was solicited again on the return trip, Gonzales says he asked whether the group was authorized to promote religion on federal property.
As Gonzales tells it, the youngest solicitor reacted angrily, using the "F" word and claiming to have VA authorization as well as a legal right to pass out scriptures.
Gonzales, who is affiliated with a national group called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says a crowd gathered as the argument erupted into shouted expletives on both sides.
Two VA police officers showed up, Gonzales says, escorted him away and insisted he leave while the religious handouts continued. "These guys weren't even supposed to be there," Gonzales says. "And here they were yelling at me? I believe in the Constitution. ... But then the police hauled me away."
Mikey Weinstein, founder and president of the Religious Freedom group says he was stunned by Gonzales' experience, and contacted the hospital's then-acting director, Shawn Bransky, who agreed the incident was not handled appropriately.
Gonzales says Bransky apologized, noted that the Bible group was unauthorized and promised to issue an explanatory email to VA employees. Cont.
Story from - The Arizona Republic
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