Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Requires the Secretary of Defense to review and update DoD Directive 5535.12 within 90 days so DoD-owned trademarks may be combined with religious insignia on commercial identification tags ("dog tags") and sold by lawful trademark licensees. The update is retroactively deemed effective as of September 13, 2013.
Progressive flags Establishment Clause and equality concerns
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a concise administrative directive requiring the Secretary of Defense to update a specified DoD Directive within a short timeframe to permit the combination of DoD-owned trademarks with religious insignia on commercial dog tags sold by licensees.
Requires the Secretary of Defense to review and update DoD Directive 5535.12 within 90 days so DoD-owned trademarks may be combined with religious insignia on commercial identification tags ("dog tags") and sold by lawful trademark licensees.
The update is retroactively deemed effective as of September 13, 2013.
Narrow, low-cost administrative change improves odds, but religious expression and potential constitutional questions add uncertainty.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a concise administrative directive requiring the Secretary of Defense to update a specified DoD Directive within a short timeframe to permit the combination of DoD-owned trademarks with religious insignia on commercial dog tags sold by licensees. It is specific about actor, target directive, and deadline but leaves substantive implementation details to the Department.
Progressive flags Establishment Clause and equality concerns
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Progressive flags Establishment Clause and equality concerns
Mixed view: supports individual religious expression but worries about government-linked trademarks appearing to endorse religion.
Concerned about equal treatment for all faiths and secular options, and potential Establishment Clause litigation.
Pragmatic cautious support if legal risks are mitigated.
Views bill as narrow administrative change but wants clear guidelines, nondiscrimination, and transparency about licensing revenue and legal exposure.
Likely supportive as affirming religious expression and private commerce; views the change as limited, pro-religion, and respectful of trademark licensing.
Sees minimal government overreach since sales are commercial.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
Narrow, low-cost administrative change improves odds, but religious expression and potential constitutional questions add uncertainty.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Progressive flags Establishment Clause and equality concerns
Narrow, low-cost administrative change improves odds, but religious expression and potential constitutional questions add uncertainty.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill is a concise administrative directive requiring the Secretary of Defense to update a specified DoD Directive within a short timeframe to permit the combination of DoD…
Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.