You probably won’t see this on tonight’s news, but the US government has finally agreed to allow Wiccan soldiers and their families to display the pentacle, the symbol of their faith, on VA-issued grave markers. The pentacle joins 38 other approved symbols after lawyers uncovered bias in the government toward Wicca:
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.
After trying for years to secure this simple display of respect for their fallen loved ones, families of Wiccan soldiers filed a lawsuit against the government last November. You can read more about the Pentacle Quest here.
“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, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which represented the Wiccans in the lawsuit.
Amen and Blessed Be.
I learned a valuable lesson, though! Do NOT watch nature shows when you’re PMS-ing. Watching Planet Earth last weekend, I was bawling like a baby. Poor polar bears. Makes me weepy even now.
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