Author Topic: Wiccan headstone - ntl govt balks, but state comes through for soldier's widow  (Read 1545 times)

Offline delalluvia

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Fallen Nevada Soldier Has Religious Symbol Placed on Grave After Much Controversy

Roberta Stewart's long battle is over. Now she can visit his memorial and see the sign of her and her husband's Wiccan faith. Sergeant Patrick Stewart died while serving in Afghanistan.

The memorial for her husband, Sergeant Patrick Stewart is displayed alongside his comrades with the pentacle.

Stewart said, "The only way I can really describe it is bittersweet. Today is finally ended by honoring my husband, which was my main goal to honor the love of my life, and today he is honored with his pilot John Flynn".

But it's a long road for religious freedom and the other soldiers who are not recognized of Wiccan and Pagan faith. This religious symbol is not accepted by national organizations and Roberta Stewart says while she just won the battle, she hasn't won the war. " I will fight for the Constitution of the United States because that's what my husband fought for."

Having her husband's plaque inscribed with the pentacle is the first for the country's veterans. She hopes this won't be the last. Stewart is working with two national Wiccan organizations and is currently in litigation with the Veteran's Administration. "Every soldier deserves to be honored. You take them to war, you honor them when they come home no matter what they believe. What they don't believe. They are our soldiers and they are our heroes."

Governor Kenny Guinn allowed the pentacle to be placed on Stewart's memorial and the plaque went up Monday.


The state did this for her.  Not the national government.  She is currently suing them:


Soldiers' widows sue for pagan symbols on headstones

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) -- The Star of David is OK, as are more than a dozen variations of the Christian cross. Even the atomic whirl used by atheists gets the thumbs-up from the federal government.

But a Wiccan symbol representing earth, air, fire, water and spirit isn't recognized by the federal government for veterans' grave markers.

A federal lawsuit filed Monday accuses the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of violating the constitutional rights of Wiccans because the government does not allow its symbol on headstones in national cemeteries.

"I honestly think there must be some people who don't want to acknowledge that the Wiccan religion should be entitled to the same rights as other religions," said Selena Fox, who is senior minister of the Wiccan Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin.

Roberta Stewart, a widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan last year, has waged her own personal war to see the Wiccan pentacle placed on the tombstone of her husband, Nevada National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart.

Stewart, whose husband was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was rebuffed by federal veterans' officials when she sought approval to affix the pentacle to the Veterans' Memorial Wall in Nevada, but state officials said they would erect a plaque with the symbol.

Stewart said she had the plight of other families in mind when she decided to file the lawsuit. Joining her are Karen DePolito, of Utah, whose husband, Jerome Birnbaum, is a Korean War veteran who died last year; Circle Sanctuary; and Isis Invicta Military Mission, a Wiccan and Pagan congregation serving military personnel based in Geyserville, California.

The lawsuit claims the VA has made "excuse after excuse" for more than nine years for not approving the pentacle, and argues that constitutional rights of freedom of speech, religion and due process have been violated by the department's not acting on requests to allow the symbol.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Madison and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, seeks an order compelling the VA to make a decision.

The VA issued a statement Monday that outlined the procedure under way to create uniform standards under which new symbols can be accepted, but did not comment on the lawsuit itself.

Legal papers filed by attorneys for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a religious liberty watchdog group, said it makes no sense for Wiccans to be excluded.

The Army allows Wiccan soldiers to list their faith on dog tags, Wiccan organizations are allowed to hold services on military installations and the Army Chaplains Handbook includes an explanation of the religion, attorneys said.

Wiccans worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves "white" or good witches, pagans or neo-pagans. Approximately 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, according to 2005 Defense Department statistics.


http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11/13/widows.suit.ap/index.html