Note: Here is Rep. Bob Barr's (R-GA) statement in a press release that can be found on his website.

May 18, 1999

BARR DEMANDS END TO TAXPAYER-FUNDED WITCHCRAFT ON AMERICAN MILITARY BASES

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Representative Bob Barr (GA-7) has demanded an end to the taxpayer-supported practice of witchcraft on military bases.  Barr's request came in response to reports that chaplains at Fort Hood, and other bases, are sanctioning, if not supporting, the practice of witchcraft as a "religion" by soldiers on military bases.

"This move sets a dangerous precedent that could easily result in the practice of all sorts of bizarre practices being supported by the military under the rubric of ‘religion.'  What's next?  Will armored divisions be forced to travel with sacrificial animals for Satanic rituals?  Will Rastifarians demand the inclusion of ritualistic marijuana cigarettes in their rations?," said Barr, in letters to military and congressional leaders.

In support of his request, Barr noted the Supreme Court's decision in Goldman v. Weinberger, 475 U.S. 503 (1986), in which Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote, "[t]he military need not encourage debate or tolerate protest to the extent that such tolerance is required of the civilian state by the First Amendment; to accomplish its mission, the military must foster instinctive obedience, unity, commitment, and esprit de corps..."

"A print of the painting, "The Prayer At Valley Forge," depicting George Washington on bended knee, praying in the hard snow at Valley Forge, hangs over the desk in my office.  If the practice of witchcraft, such as is allowed now at Fort Hood, is permitted to stand, one wonders what paintings will grace the walls of future generations," Barr concluded in his letters.

Barr, a former United States Attorney, serves on the House Judiciary, Government Reform, and Banking committees.

NEWS Update: For Immediate Release

LLL INDEPENDENCE DAY FREEDOM STATEMENT

Lady Liberty League News #5

4th of July Weekend, 1999

Uphold Freedom of Worship for Wiccans in the US Military!

BACKGROUND:

Since mid-May, 1999, freedom of worship for Wiccans serving in the US Military has been under attack and the subject of a growing national political debate, covered by national and international press, television, radio, and other media.

Representative Bob Barr, US Congressman representating the 7th District of Georgia, has been campaigning for an end to the free exercise of religion by Wiccans in the US Armed Forces at military installations. Barr even attempted to get federal anti-Wiccan legislation passed. Shortly after this failed, several anti-diversity "Christian" political groups joined Barr's anti-Wiccan campaign and called for a nationwide boycott of enlistment and re-enlistment in the US Army until Wiccans in the US Military lose their rights to free exercise of religion. Others now have joined this assault on Wiccans in the military, including South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the US Senate and the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

In late June, the campaign against Wiccans in the US Armed Forces escalated further and reached Presidential politics. When asked to comment about this political controversy, the leading contender for the Republican party nomination for US President, Texas Governor George W. Bush, Jr., proclaimed on national television news that the Wicca is not a real religion.

WICCAN & OTHER PAGANS RESPOND:

Wiccans, Pagans, and others concerned about Constitutional freedom issues have been responding to these misconceptions and attacks on the Wiccan religion as a whole and on the First Amendment rights of Wiccans in the US military in particular. They have been writing letters to elected officials, giving media interviews, and issuing press releases and public statements.

Selena Fox, founder of Circle Sanctuary and executive director of the Lady Liberty League, is among the leaders who has spoken out on behalf of Wiccan religious freedom and Pagan civil rights on this issue. She is among the leaders of 31 major Pagan organizations who have issued a July 4th joint public statement and press release championing religious freedom in the US military:

http://www.bloomington.in.us/~pen/barrpagan.html

In addition, in response to the recent questions raised by elected officials, including US presidential candidate Bush, about the validity of the Wiccan religion as a religion, the following public statement by Selena Fox has been released today by the Lady Liberty League:

LLL STATEMENT:

"The Wiccan religion is a world religion, with churches and practitioners in more than three dozen countries around the globe. Over the past twenty years, Wiccan ministers have been among the speakers and delegates at international interfaith conferences. Professors from universities in the USA, Europe, and elsewhere have identified the Wiccan religion as a religion in the classroom and in published writings," said Rev. Selena Fox, senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, an international Wiccan church.

"In the United States, there have been legally established Wiccan churches for more than a quarter century, and federal court rulings have consistently upheld the legitimacy of Wicca as a religion. In all branches of the US Armed Forces, Wiccans have been effectively serving their country along with members of other religions in both the past and present at military installations within the USA and around the world."

"If Wiccans in the US Armed Forces lose their First Amendment rights, what other religious practitioners will lose theirs next? Religious freedom is a cornerstone of American democracy and must be upheld," continued Rev. Fox, a Wiccan minister who is directly descended from a member of the first Continental Congress and from Revolutionary War patriot leaders and soldiers, including one who wintered with George Washington at Valley Forge.

"This Fourth of July weekend, as we honor the birthday of the United States of America, may we strengthen our resolve to uphold the free exercise of religion for all as well as to preserve the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, upon which our country was founded."

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Lady Liberty League

PO Box 219

Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 USA

telephone: (608) 924-2216; fax: (608) 924-5961

email: circle@circlesanctuary.org

website: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty

Lady Liberty League (LLL) is an international Nature Religions civil rights organization. More information and links about efforts to preserve first amendment rights for Wiccans in the US Military is on-line at the LLL website.

Copies of this email newsletter/press release can be forwarded to others.

Please help spread the word:

by emailing others you know by adding a link to your website by posting on bulletin boards by publishing this in newsletters by forwarding this to lists by mentioning in chat rooms, & other ways

Thank you.

LADY LIBERTY LEAGUE NEWS

Email Newsletter of the Lady Liberty League

Circle Sanctuary

PO Box 219

Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 USA

telephone: (608) 924-2216

fax: (608) 924-5961 evenings (days, phone first)

email: circle@mhtc.net

http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty

LLL NEWS Staff

editor: Selena Fox

reporters: Selena Fox & Angie Buchanan

list keeping: Theresa Jones

web keeping: Stephen Kastner

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