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Subject: Wiccan gets a star

Author: Pilgrim

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 27/09/06 13:37 September 15, 2006 NEWS UPDATE: Wiccan widow gets her respect A while back, I wrote a posting about Roberta Stewart, the Nevada war widow at odds with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs over her late husband's memorial plaque. Roberta and her husband, Nevada Army National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart, are/were Wiccans. When Patrick died Sept. 25, 2005 — the helicopter he was riding in was gunned down in Afghanistan — Roberta asked the VA to place the Wiccan religious symbol, the pentacle, on his memorial plaque at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, a town near Reno. The VA said no. Flatly. That was one year ago, and the space reserved for Patrick's plaque remains barren and empty. But now, finally, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, a posthumously decorated war hero, and his wife, and the First Amendment, will get the respect they deserve, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. The pentacle — the symbol of the Stewarts' faith no different than the Christian cross or the Star of David — will shine in the Nevada sun on the cemetary wall. Unfortunately, this Civil Rights victory comes on the inescapably ugly shoulders of that too-often-reared head of the Technicality. The close-mouthed VA didn't grant the Stewarts their win Sept. 13, it was the Nevada Attorney General George J. Chanos' office and the Nevada Governor Kenny C. Guinn. Guinn asked Chanos' people what sort of control the state had over the cemetary where the plaque was to go, and the Attorney General concluded that since the cemetary was owned by the state, the federal VA had no jurisdiction over the administration of the memorial wall. The Nevada Office of Veterans Services was the organization that finally granted the pentacle to Patrick's plaque, having to hire a contractor outside of the federal VA's procurement system to have the plaque made. And the VA has yet to announce its official recognition of the Wiccan religion, despite heedings U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, and U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who've both written letters to the organization asking for the Wiccan symbol to be added to the VA's list of established religions. The VA's non-response has been called an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment by officials on both sides of the political spectrum. Why so? The VA's federal acknowledgement of several religions (Christianity, Islam, Judea, etc.), while excluding others, is essentially saying that the federal government makes the "official" religions the religions of the Nation, which is exactly what the First Amendment says it cannot do. So now, Roberta Stewart has made one small victory, with the state of Nevada behind her, but she still has a long, arduous battle to go... a war with the federal government, for civic justice, for religious freedom. Note: Image of the pentacle from www.wikipedia.com. Photo of Roberta Stewart from the Reno Gazette-Journal. Posted by jhinkley on September 15, 2006 at 09:17 PM | Permalink [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Subject: Re: Wiccan gets a star
Author: whitewolf [Edit]	Date Posted: 27/09/06 15:19 Good to hear the Stewarts finally got the respect they deserved! [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Re: Wiccan gets a star
Author: Lilly from the Valley [Edit]	Date Posted: 28/09/06 8:34 Ditto. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Re: Wiccan gets a star
Author: Ash [Edit]	Date Posted: 28/09/06 9:22 Yah it is good to hear. Though when i read the title i thought it was heavy sarcasm which made me laugh but..it wasn't. Oh well..win win. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]

[> Subject: Re: Wiccan gets a star
Author: Pilgrim [Edit]	Date Posted: 28/09/06 16:00 Sarcasm? Hmmm. Hadn't really thought of that. For me the title has a double meaning though. Not only did the memorial get a pentagram put on it but I give this lady a star for fighting the battle. Pilgrim. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]