US Department of Veterans Affairs

Reno, NV: (Apr-24-07) Roberta Stewart filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Veterans Affairs, accusing them of not recognizing the Wiccan emblem as a religious marker in national cemeteries. Stewart filed the suit in November 2006 with several widows and others who said not recognizing the Wiccan symbol was unconstitutional. Her husband, Nevada Army National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was one of four killed Sept. 25, 2005, when his Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. Although the Nevada Office of Veterans Services decided to put the Wiccan emblem on a plaque for Stewart at the Veterans Memorial Wall at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Roberta Stewart said she had to continue her fight for all Wiccans. In a settlement announced at the Washington National Press Club in Washington DC, the Wiccan pentacle was given equal standing to other emblems on the VA available list. The Department of Veterans Affairs also agreed to pay $225,000 towards attorney fees and court costs. [RENO GAZETTE JOURNAL: WICCAN EMBLEM]

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Published on Apr-27-07