yes! A win for religious freedom!

kitty fabulous · Apr 23, 2007

How many here have been following the case against the Department of Vetrans Affairs over the use of the pentacle on the tombstones of slain Wiccan vetrans?

Well it's about damn time! We won!

http://www.aclu.org/religion/frb/29459prs20070423.html

Veterans Win Right to Post Religious Symbol on Headstones (4/23/2007)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: media@aclu.org

WASHINGTON – Following separate lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Department of Veterans Affairs today agreed to allow family members to include a Wiccan symbol on the headstones of deceased veterans.

The ACLU has long argued that veterans and their families should be free to choose religious symbols on military headstones – whether Crosses, Stars of David, Pentacles, or other symbols – and that the government should not be permitted to restrict such religious expression in federal cemeteries.

“We are gratified that the government will finally allow military families to express their religious beliefs and honor their loved ones,” said Daniel Mach, Director of Litigation with the ACLU’s Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, who represents families and churches in this case. “Veterans who have served their country honorably should not have to worry that their faith will be ignored after death.”

The settlement reached in the Americans United case included and resolved all claims made in the ACLU’s parallel litigation.

The national ACLU and the ACLU of Washington filed their lawsuit on behalf of two churches and three individuals, including the mother of a soldier who was killed in action in Iraq in 2004. The National Cemetery Administration had previously approved 38 emblems of belief for veterans, encompassing a wide variety of religions, as well as symbols for atheists and secular humanists. Yet the agency had refused since the mid-1990s to act on requests by Wiccan families and clergy to approve use of the Pentacle.

Under the terms of today’s settlement, the Department of Veterans Affairs will add the Pentacle to its list of approved emblems of belief, and will provide Pentacle-engraved headstones and markers to the individual families who brought the ACLU and Americans United lawsuits.

“It is deeply unfortunate that grieving families of deceased veterans were forced to undertake a bureaucratic struggle to have their loved ones’ wishes honored,” said ACLU of Washington staff attorney Aaron Caplan, who is co-counsel in this case. “All veterans, regardless of their religion, deserve to have their faith recognized on an equal basis.”

The ACLU brought its lawsuit on behalf of two churches: the Aquarian Tabernacle Church formed in 1979 in Index, Washington, and the Correllian Nativist Church International, formed in 1979 with offices in Albany, New York. The lawsuit also names the following individuals as petitioners:

Kathleen Egbert of Laurel, MD, daughter of World War II veteran Abraham Kooiman, a decorated Wiccan soldier who was buried in Arlington National Memorial Cemetery in 2003;

Patricia Darlene Howell Corneilson of Kentucky, mother of James Price, a decorated Wiccan service member who was killed in action while serving in the Army in Iraq in 2004; and

Scott Stearns of Kent, WA, a retired disabled U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Persian Gulf War and is a member of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church. Stearns plans to have the symbol posted on his headstone.

The ACLU lawsuit, Egbert v. Nicholson, was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, DC. Today’s settlement comes after oral arguments before the court on April 10. During that argument, the Department of Veterans Affairs promised to act on the pending Pentacle applications within 90 days. Immediately after the argument, the court issued an order that repeated the department’s promise to act, and scheduled a second oral argument in July.

A copy of the ACLU complaint is online at: www.aclu.org/religion/discrim/26968lgl20060929.html
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from the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State website:

http://www.au.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr007=ra9gsceyc3.app13a&abbr=pr&page=NewsArticle&id=9077&security=1002&news_iv_ctrl=1241

Bush Administration Agrees To Approve Wiccan Pentacle For Veteran Memorials
Monday, April 23, 2007

Settlement In Americans United Lawsuit Comes After Discovery Of A Pattern Of Bias Against Minority Faith

The Bush administration has conceded that Wiccans are entitled to have the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, inscribed on government-issued memorial markers for deceased veterans, Americans United for Separation of Church and State announced today.

The settlement agreement, filed today with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, brings to a successful conclusion a lawsuit Americans United brought against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in November.

The litigation charged that denying a pentacle to deceased Wiccan service personnel, while granting religious symbols to those of other traditions, violated the U.S. Constitution.

“This settlement has forced the Bush Administration into acknowledging that there are no second class religions in America, including among our nation’s veterans,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “It is a proud day for religious freedom in the United States.”

Continued Lynn, “Sadly, the refusal of the federal government to recognize the Wiccan pentacle seems to have been built on inexcusable bias, a foundation that has crumbled under the press of this litigation.”

In the lawsuit, Americans United represented Roberta Stewart, whose husband, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2005; Karen DePolito, whose husband, Jerome Birnbaum, is a veteran of the Korean War who died last year; Circle Sanctuary, a prominent Wiccan congregation; Jill Medicine Heart Combs, whose husband is severely ill; and the Isis Invicta Military Mission, a Wiccan and Pagan congregation serving military personnel.

The litigation was coordinated by Richard B. Katskee, AU assistant legal director with oversight by Ayesha N. Khan, AU legal director. They were assisted by other attorneys in the office, including Aram Schvey, AU litigation counsel.

Americans United’s attorneys uncovered evidence that the VA’s refusal to recognize the Pentacle was motivated by bias toward the Wiccan faith. President George W. Bush, when he was governor of Texas, had opposed the right of Wiccans to meet at a military base in that state. Bush’s opinion of Wiccans was taken into consideration when making decisions on whether to approve the Pentacle.

“Many people have asked me why the federal government was so stubborn about recognizing the Wiccan symbol,” said AU’s Lynn. “I did not want to believe that bias toward Wiccans was the reason, but that appears to have been the case. That’s discouraging, but I’m pleased we were able to put a stop to it.”

AU’s Khan welcomed the settlement.

“It is rank hypocrisy for this administration to claim publicly that it cares about religious freedom and equality but then to quietly and deliberately discriminate against a minority faith like Wicca,” she said. “Until now, this administration’s view has been that Wiccans are good enough to fight for their country, but not good enough to be acknowledged with a proper headstone.”

Under the terms of the Circle Sanctuary v. Nicholson settlement, the federal government will recognize the right of Wiccans to have the pentacle made available as an emblem of belief for inscription on headstones, grave markers and memorial plaques. The VA will add the symbol to its list of available emblems of belief.

In addition, the VA will make markers bearing the pentacle — an encircled, intertwined five-pointed star — available to the families of Stewart, Birnbaum and others who request them.

AU noted that the VA’s list of 38 approved symbols for government gravestones, markers and plaques includes emblems for Christians, Muslims, Atheists, Hindus, Humanists and members of the Eckankar, Serbian Orthodox and United Moravian faiths.

A Wiccan group first petitioned the VA for approval of the pentacle years ago. Officials at the agency dragged their feet on the request but in the interim approved the symbols of six other religions and belief systems. Among them was a Sikh emblem, which the VA approved in just a few weeks.

Wicca is a nature-based religion grounded in pre-Christian beliefs. Circle Sanctuary says the Wiccan religion honors the Divine as both Mother and Father, encompasses love and respect of Nature, celebrates the cycles of Sun and Moon, and encourages adherents to live in harmony with other humans and the greater Circle of Life.
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Sage-Phoenix · Apr 23, 2007

Good to know, hopefully it's a sign that things will continue to progress.

Clove · May 9, 2007

yes, this is great. Quiet a few friends of mine are happy about this.
Peace,
Clove

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yes! A win for religious freedom!

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yes! A win for religious freedom!

kitty fabulous smoked tofu

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