NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- An Arizona pastor whose at-home worship services and Bible studies regularly drew as many as 80 people has been sentenced to 60 days in jail, ordered to pay a $12,180 fine and given three years of probation.

In a decision upheld on appeal, the Maricopa County Superior Court found Michael Salman guilty of 67 building code violations. Salman contends the case is about religious freedom.

Phoenix city officials said the case centers on compliance with zoning and building code laws designed to protect the public. After he was ordered to host no more than 12 worshippers at a time at his home, Salman gained in 2008 a building permit to attach a 2,000-square-foot private game room to his home but began using the room as Harvest Christian Fellowship Community Church, according to a fact sheet posted on the city's website. The usage violated the building permit, which prohibits any use of the facility other than a private game room.

"The Michael Salman court case is about building safety," the city said. "Due to the regular, reoccurring high vehicular traffic in this quiet residential neighborhood, neighbors repeatedly complained about the public assembly occurring on his property. Because of the multiple, reoccurring complaints, the city investigated the activity and discovered numerous building code violations primarily related to fire safety standards."

Salman has launched a campaign for his freedom, drawing public support and representation from civil liberties attorney John Whitehead, founder of the Rutherford Institute.

"What happened to Michael Salman ... illustrates the absurdity of government officials prosecuting individuals for engaging in religious activity on their private property," Whitehead said in a Rutherford news release. "That Michael Salman and his family and friends are not allowed to gather in private to study the Bible goes against every founding principle of the United States of America."

PENTAGON HOLDS FIRST GAY PRIDE EVENT -- The U.S. military has broken with history, holding its first celebration of homosexuality at the Pentagon.

Jeh Johnson, general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense, delivered a keynote address before a panel discussion titled "The Value of Open Service and Diversity" June 26.

Johnson co-wrote the report that eventually led to the Obama administration's dismantling last fall of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy which prevented homosexuals from serving openly in the military. Johnson said the CIA held its first gay pride event 12 years ago and that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell has not affected the military in any tangible way.

"We lifted a real and personal burden from their shoulders. They no longer have to live a lie in the military. They no longer have to teach a child to lie to protect her father's career," Johnson said of homosexual service members. "All of us should applaud the near flawless manner in which the entire military implemented this policy and unconditionally welcomed their brothers and sisters to the table."

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, said that statement is false.

"There have been signs of discontent with the situation," she said, citing a U.S. Army study on stress and sex crime trends. "The most important thing is, people in the military follow orders, and one is you don't go out and question policy once it's been changed. So there's no vehicle for people in the military to register discomfort with the new LGBT law."

Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, agreed.

"In fact," he said, "I know some officers who've been ordered by their commanders not to speak to the press, whereas those who have been supportive of the policy are brought out before the press. We have a double standard."

Contrary to the Pentagon event's title, Donnelly said "diversity" actually weakens the military, and that civilian activists are using it as a crucible for social engineering.

"What makes our military strong are the intangibles -- dedication to the mission, selfless service, putting the mission ahead of individual interests," she said. "If you have a faction that says, 'It's about me, me, us, us,' that's inherently divisive. There's no evidence the kind of diversity being talked about there today will be helpful to the military."

MO. GOV. VETOES RELIGIOUS LIBERTY PROTECTION -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed legislation that would protect the religious liberties of employers and employees against the abortion-contraceptive mandate included in the health care reform law supported by the Obama administration.

It appears, however, both houses of the Missouri legislature may be able to achieve the two-thirds majorities to override Nixon's July 12 veto. The Senate approved the bill with a 28-6 vote, while the House of Representatives voted 105-33 for the measure, according to LifeNews.com.

The abortion-contraceptive mandate in the law commonly referred to as "Obamacare" requires all plans to cover contraceptives and sterilizations as preventive services without cost to employees under a federal rule announced in January. The mandate includes coverage of contraceptives that can cause abortions of tiny embryos. The rule regarding that mandate has a religious exemption critics find woefully inadequate and has elicited ardent opposition from church groups and religious freedom advocates.

The vetoed bill would protect employers or employees from being required to purchase health insurance that covers abortion, contraception or sterilization if doing so would conflict with their "religious beliefs or moral convictions," LifeNews reported.

In his veto message, Nixon said the state already has a law protecting religious freedom in such cases. He also said he opposes a provision in the new bill empowering insurance companies to deny contraceptive coverage to women and "override the rights and beliefs of employees and employers."

Pam Fichter, president of Missouri Right to Life, said in a written statement she is "sincerely disappointed that Governor Nixon has chosen to give away our religious liberties to Washington politicians."

The bill "would have sent a clear message that pro-life Missourians oppose participating in the taking of innocent human lives against our religious beliefs," she said. "Governor Nixon joins the Obama Administration in attacking our religious liberty by supporting the mandate forcing all Missourians to pay for insurance that includes abortion coverage even if doing so is a violation of our religious beliefs." Continued...