Trijicon, the company that produces the military rifle scopes with Biblical inscriptions, will end the decades-old practice and provide the military with modification kits to remove the markings, ABC is reporting.
General David Petraeus also addressed the scopes this morning, calling the matter “disturbing and a serious concern for me.” That’s a markedly different response from the Central Command spokesman who minimized the significance of the New Testament inscriptions this week, comparing them to “In God We Trust” on currency.
ABC reports:
A Trijicon press release stated that the company would: “Remove the inscription reference on all U.S. military products that are in the company’s factory that have already been produced, but have yet to be shipped” and “Provide 100 modification kits to forces in the field to remove the reference on the already forward deployed optical sights.”The company also said it would ensure future procurements from the Department of Defense are produced without scripture references, and offer foreign forces that have purchased the products “the same remedies.”
This development comes just a few days after ABC, using information uncovered by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, first revealed the Trijicon practice.
Meanwhile, the controversy has begun to get picked up by media around the world, including a segment on Al Jazeera and a story in Pakistan’s The Nation.
Wixom, Michigan-based Trijicon, which endorses “biblical [moral] standards” on its Web site, has multi-million dollar contracts with the Army and the Marines to provide rifle scopes.
Earlier today, Fox’s Steve Doocy defended Trijicon’s practice, comparing it to Muslim extremists shouting “Allahu Akbar” before detonating suicide bombs.