A lawsuit demanding the removal of a Bible on display at New Hampshire's veteran's hospital can move forward, a judge ruled Wednesday, according to Fox News.
Lawyers for the government argued the suit should be dismissed because James Chamberlain, the Air Force veteran who filed it, has not shown he was harmed in any way.
Chamberlain, who is a Christian, sued in May.
He argued the Bible's inclusion in a display honoring missing veterans and POWs at the entrance of the medical center is in violation of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination of anyone based on their religious beliefs.
"Based upon Jim's beliefs and his service to our country and his Christianity," Chamberlain's lawyer, Lawrence Vogelman, said outside the courthouse, "he thinks excluding people is just wrong."
Judge Paul Barbadoro said in his decision, any case involving alleged religious freedom violation requires a "highly fact-specific analysis." There was also a debate over whether Chamberlain could claim "injury" over the Bible's presence.
Several veterans showed up at the hearing to support the Bible's presence.
"The Bible on the Missing Man Table represents something that the actual POWs clung to to survive," said Quinn Morey of the Northeast POW/MIA Network.
"The Bible got the POWs through their horrible captivity," Morey said. "It would actually be an affront to them if it were not represented at the Missing Man table."
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.