Original email to Mikey Weinstein from Military Religious Freedom Foundation’s (MRFF) lead client on the unauthorized Bible distribution incident at Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ:
From: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
Subject: Re: Fwd: Phoenix VA Bible Soliciting
Date: October 22, 2016 at 6:50:34 PM MDT
To: Mikey
Reply-To: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
Hello Mikey,
My name is (name withheld) and I am a (position withheld) at the Phoenix VA Hospital located in Downtown Phoenix. I have been raised in a (religious or nonreligious affiliation withheld) Family and read the Bible in its entirety 2.5 times from Genisis to Revelations. I know the Bible very well. I am also a (title withheld) student at (college name withheld) working towards a bachelors degree in the subject. On the afternoon of October 20, 2016 at approx 1:30 P.M., I decided to take a break from work. As I was walking down the main hallway, in the hospital, I noticed a table was set up where two elderly men, and one younger man, were handing soliciting Bibles to patients and staff as they walked by. I looked at the table full of Bibles and said no thanks at first. I went to the Store inside the VA and purchased a bag of chips and a gatorade. While I was in the store, I began to question what i had just saw. I said to myself that "it is unconstitutional for this to be happening." I also remembered that the private for-profit Christian school "GCU" also comes onto the property to solicit employees and veterans. On my way back to my (department), I had to pass the table again where I was yet again solicited a Bible for a second time. I looked at the individuals and said "It is unconstitutional for you to be here soliciting religion on Federal Property." The younger gentleman, approx 30 years of age, began to argue with me. He claimed that it is fully lawful for him to distribute Bibles to people. He began to describe a shady law code that allows him to do so. I told them they are in violation of the establishment clause of the first amendment prohibiting congress from passing laws that respect an establishment of religion. He started yelling at me saying "IM GETTING SICK OF PEOPLE LIKE YOU WHO DONT EVEN KNOW THE FUCKING LAW!" We began to get loud in the hallways and a large crowd gathered to observe. We went back and forth for approx. 4 mins arguing loudly on the legalities of the incident. Security was then called and two officers arrived to the seen. I was escorted away from the Bible Table and told to leave. I asked the officers why they wouldn't stop them from soliciting religion on a federal institution. They told me to contact Public Affairs office and take up the matter with them. I did and received no answer when i attempted to call. I left a voicemail wanting answers to the policy of soliciting religion and still have not heard back from them as of now. I then went to my computer at work and filed a report with the (organization's name withheld), but it is taking them a while to get back in touch with me. I left work feeling completely violated and scared. I was so angry about the incident that I took that Friday off to try and cool down. On Saturday October 20th, 2016, I got on Facebook and asked (blogger/journalist's name withheld) what I should do next. The referred me to you, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. I would really like for the Phoenix VA to uphold the separation of church and state. The hospital director's name is RimaAnn Nelson whose phone number is (phone number withheld). And my cell phone number is (phone number withheld). I can possibly obtain email an email address for her as well at a later time.
Thank you for your help!
(MRFF's lead client name withheld)
A grateful thank you to Mikey Weinstein from MRFF's lead client for MRFF's efforts in stopping the New Testament Bibles from being distributed at Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ:
From: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
Subject: Thanks again MRFF!
Date: October 24, 2016 at 1:58:50 PM MDT
To: Mikey
Reply-To: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
(MRFF's lead client name withheld)
(position withheld)
Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
October 24, 2016
To all staff at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation,
I'd like to take a moment to thank Mikey Weinstein and all of the hard working staff at the MRFF. My name is (name withheld) and I am a (position withheld) at the Phoenix VA Hospital in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona. I am a non-believer but grew up in a very religious family. I have studied the Holy Bible in its entirety and am very familiar with many of its teachings. Arizona tends to be a very religious state with many fundamentalist Christians and it can be difficult to handle at times.
On the afternoon of Thursday October 20, 2016, I decided to take a break from work. As I was walking down the hall, I noticed a Bible distribution station set up where Bibles were being given out to passersby and I immediately thought that it is unconstitutional for Bible vendors to come onto Federal property and solicit their religion and hand out Bibles to VA personnel and patients. This was a violation of the establishment clause to the First Amendment which prohibits Congress from passing laws that respect an establishment of religion. After a loud argument with the Bible vendors where they also used profanity at me, I was escorted away by the VA Police and advised only to bring my complaint to the VA Public Affairs Office. Nothing happened to the Bible distributors. I was truly shocked. This was very unjust and I felt extremely violated and sad that a Federal Government institution would ignore the constitutional rights of all Americans.
I was able to get in contact with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation that Saturday and the wonderful staff took immediate action even though it was a weekend! Mikey and his team reassured me that the incident at the Phoenix VA was absolutely wrong and needed to be addressed. The MRFF was absolutely relentless in pursuing my issue, which had now grown to include 5 of my supportive VA employee colleagues and 35 VA supportive veteran patients of many different faiths and no faith. MRFF handled this situation in an extremely effective way for all of us and the issue was resolved that very Monday! MRFF has even assured me that I will be personally receiving an apology from senior VA leadership. Many individuals do not come forward with issues like this because they may feel intimidated. The MRFF reassured that there are great people out there that are fighting hard on your side and will never give up the fight to protect the constitutional rights for all Americans. This is a very exciting time for me and I am filled with great joy! Thank you again Mikey and all staff at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. As I give hope and courage to future generations, your foundation is also an inspiration for the whole world to admire.
Email from MRFF's lead client stating that Acting Deputy Director of the Phoenix VA Hospital Shawn Bransky said that he would send out a mass email making up for MRFF’s lead client's humiliation:
From: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
Subject: Follow up to PHX VA incident
Date: October 24, 2016 at 8:30:47 PM MDT
To: Mikey
Reply-To: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
Military Religious Freedom Foundation,
It is my greatest pleasure to announce that the deputy director of the Phoenix VA Hospital, Shawn Bransky, fulfilled his promise by reaching out to me and personally apologizing about the incident that happened regarding the unconstitutional Bible distribution table that was set up in the Phoenix VA hospital. He was very kind and sincere in his apology. The Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center is now in the process of changing the entire regulation which will mandate "Placards of Approval," from the Director's office, for all solicitors who come onto the VA Hospital property! He will also be sending out a mass email that will make up for the total humiliation that I experienced when the VA police escorted me away from the Bible table and did nothing in return to the unconstitutional Bible distributors operating on federal property. I'd also like to, yet again, thank the amazing people at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation for their relentless dedication towards helping me and my 40 VA employee and VA veteran patient MRFF complainants uphold the constitutional rights and liberties that men and women from all faiths, and no faiths, fought and died to protect. The separation of church and state is a critical part of our constitution and it defines who we are. Let us keep fighting to uphold these truths that make us a free people.
Acting Medical Center Director Shawn M. Bransky's “official" response email that resulted in the ire of MRFF's lead client:
From: Coupaud, Paul On Behalf Of PHXVAHCS/DIR
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2016 11:21 AM
To: VHAPHOAllEmployees
Subject: Unauthorized vendor activities
Fellow employees –
Many people expressed concern over a situation that occurred last Thursday in which a vendor was offering Bibles in the hallway of the Ambulatory Care Center. The vendors who come onto VA property do not do so under the official sanction of the Department of Veteran Affairs, but rather the Phoenix VA Employee’s Association.
Employee associations and their interests are essentially private matters and their activities are private activities. Yet, these associations by their definition are composed of VA employees and are closely identified with VA. Although the instructions under which the VAEA operates (VA Handbook 5025/1) are less restrictive than those covering official VA activities, this person did not act in good faith in his request for a vendor table. The vendor did request permission through VAEA to distribute Bibles and the vendor’s request was denied. Despite the denial, the vendor did show up for the event and proceeded to offer Bibles.
The leadership of the Phoenix VA Health Care System and the Phoenix VA Employee’s Association regrets if anyone was inadvertently offended.
SHAWN M. BRANSKY, CAAMA
Acting Medical Center Director
MRFF lead client’s furiously frustrated email to MRFF after Acting Medical Center Director Shawn M. Bransky's “official" email response:
From: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
Subject: Phoenix VA Response Email Dissatisfaction
Date: October 26, 2016 at 1:51:22 PM MDT
To: Mikey
Reply-To: (MRFF's lead client name withheld)
Hello MRFF,
I am writing this email to express absolute shock, dissatisfaction and fury with the impotent “response" email from Acting Medical Center Director Shawn M. Bransky. On the afternoon of Monday October 24, 2016, the MRFF arranged a phone call for my benefit where I spoke with this man over the phone in regards to the unauthorized Bible distribution station that was set up in the Ambulatory Care Center at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. He totally apologized to me and confirmed that the Bible distributors were not authorized to be on Federal property. He promised to send out a mass email the very next day that would do me justice for the utter humiliation and disrespect that I wrongfully suffered as a full-time VA employee by being led away in front of a crowd of people by the VA Police as some sort of criminal. Then this promised e-mail, came out just now, a day later than Mr. Bransky had promised me. It turns out that all he mentioned in the mass email was that "the Phoenix VA Employee' Association regrets if anyone was inadvertently offended.” I just could not believe it! This type of “Cover Your Ass” explanation is an absolute slap in the face to me, as a 3 year worker who fought to uphold the rights of our Constitution, because it does not mention that I was wrongfully taken away by VA police while the Bible vendors got to keep soliciting their religious texts which they were handing out for free. It is also a slap in the face to my 5 fellow VA employee colleagues who are supporting me and the 35 VA patients who also support me. This VA here in Phoenix has a long history of encouraging private religious entities, like the for-profit, Christian Grand Canyon University (GCU) and others, to solicit and handout free religious texts. This is totally illegal and is not at all the first time that the separation between church and state has been destroyed by the Phoenix VA as it has been going on for many months. My reputation at the Phoenix hospital is now destroyed and I am looked down upon as a troublemaker rather than a good, law-abiding person who stands by the Constitution. I am deeply saddened and actually physically sickened at the complete lack of empathy by Phoenix VA leadership and will never look at the Phoenix VA medical center as a place that respects its employees or its VA patients or stands by the Constitution.
Mikey Weinstein, President and Founder of MRFF, emails Acting Medical Center Director Shawn Bransky on behalf of MRFF's extremely dissapointed clients:
From: Mikey
Subject: Re: Unauthorized vendor activities
Date: October 26, 2016 at 4:22:11 PM MDT
To: Shawn Bransky
Cc: Paul Coupaud
.....gentlemen, thank you for sending the much-anticipated letter...**however, and most unfortunately, please note well: On behalf of MRFF’s 41 VA employee and patient clients, MRFF is EXTREMELY disappointed in this letter below on a number of critical levels......if you cannot discern the reasons why we are all so VERY upset, and you should have a concomitant desire to know why, please call me at your next earliest convenience at 505-250-7727.....Mikey Weinstein.....Founder and President, MRFF
