Shakedown time.
Via Daily Caller:
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has continued its epic encounter with the First Amendment by suing the United States government on behalf of a former Navy enlistee who says the Navy refused his re-enlistment request because he wanted to grow a beard.
The ex-enlistee, Jonathan Berts, wanted the beard because he is a Muslim.
Berts sought a religious exemption in January 2011, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
The request was denied because, at the time, Defense Department policy did not tolerate religious exemptions for facial hair and other grooming regulations.
The Navy let Berts have his beard for his first four years in the service for medical reasons. (He originally enlisted in 2002.) Specifically, he suffered from a skin condition, according to Brice Hamack, a CAIR attorney.
When Berts later asked to grow his beard because of his Islamic faith, his request was denied, the lawsuit filed last week in a U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif. claims.