On Sept. 30, the ACLU released a press release stating that they filed a lawsuit to protect the rights of veterans and their families to choose the religious symbols to engrave on their headstones in federal cemeteries.

The press release said in part: “The government has no business picking and choosing which personal religious beliefs may be expressed. All veterans, regardless of their religion, deserve to have their faith recognized on an equal basis," said ACLU of Washington staff attorney Aaron Caplan.

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September and October were two very busy months for Roberta Stewart, widow of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, and Rev. Selena Fox, head minister of Circle Sanctuary, in the continued quest to get the VA to recognize the pentacle for Wiccan veterans headstones.    MORE

I am interviewing High Priestess Rev. Alicia Freeman of the PantheanTemple in Connecticut. She decided to ask for unpaid time off for her holy days at the company she worked for. This led to her being harassed for two years and then fired. She had worked there seven years

A year earlier, her friend Rapid Freeman [now her husband] had started a petition to create a state bill, "An Act Restoring Religious Freedom in the Workplace." The purpose is to get employee unpaid time off for religious reasons. Rev. Alicia supported it and then had then unwittingly become a poster child for the bill.

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When ACTION was started with the Samhain 2004 issue Darla Wynne was in the midst of the landmark suit, “Wynne vs Great Falls” over open religious harassment in town council meetings.

There was a long court fight that would go all the way to the Supreme Court even as the public fight against her through the town council continued. The suit ended in Wynne’s favor when the Supreme Court refused to hear the town’s last appeal. Great Falls then fought against paying the customary legal and court costs owed by the loser of a lawsuit. Once again the courts found in Wynne’s favor.

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AREN has gone to a new server with many more features than the old one. This will not affect the look of the website, but it has given us more control, and also a chance to remove our E-list from Yahoo and its many quirks and problems. The Yahoo list will be offline a short time after Samhain and people interested in the new list will need to re-register. Those that have registered on the new list are already covered.     MORE

Being a minority religious person in our society can be a bit scary and some worry what would happen if others found out. Well, suppose they did? It might just depend onwhat else you’re known for in your community. Being the stranger, the unknown quantity, can make you the one people distrust and you can’t get trust or friendship if you hide out. So whether you are openly Wiccan, Pagan or Heathen, or still within the broom closet, you need to be part of your local society in order to have friends and allies, to build bridges and to build trust.

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