Religious Freedom and the Military

I have posted in the past, written a column for the newspaper, and have written to the Secretary of the VA about the need to recognize the Wiccan symbol on military graves/memorials.

For years Wiccans have been trying to get their symbol, a pentacle, recognized, but they have run into considerable resistance. Part of that resistance stems from the belief that Wicca is a Satanic religion. Now, I'm no Wiccan, don't plan to be, but I do think if we're going to recognize religious freedom for some, we should recognize it for all.

Gary Clark, a veteran and a Wiccan, has written a well-informed and passionate call for justice in the Seattle Times. There is currently a process underway that could change this status, but unfortunately it's flying under the radar. Here is Clark's plea and the information you need to register your support for religious freedom for all but supporting it for the minority.

Regardless of your political or religious beliefs, I urge everyone who believes in freedom of religion to make comments in order to protect the religious freedom of our troops and veterans.Folks can go to www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main, and work their way through the prompts to find Veterans Affairs and the proposed rule. You can type in "emblem of belief" in the keyword search field. When you make your comment, be quick about it, because there is a timer that will cut you off if you take more than a few minutes. You might prepare your remarks ahead of time and then cut and paste them into the comment section.

The way I look at it, whether members of our military die in action or not, they, and all our veterans, deserve the right to have whatever they want put on their grave marker — as an expression of their right to religious freedom.

I urge everyone to contact all of their friends and family who believe in freedom of religion, to support a soldier's/veteran's right to have freedom of religion, too.