Washington, USA - A federal lawsuit filed by Wiccans against the US Department of Veterans Affairs will proceed despite a request by the VA that it be put on hold for up to a year.
The lawsuit accuses the VA of coming up with excuses for more than nine years to deny the Wiccan symbol on national cemetery grave markers of veterans who belong to that religion.
Currently, the VA recognizes 38 other religious symbols for gravestones.
The VA argued in a motion filed Jan. 19 that the lawsuit should be put on hold until after the department finalizes new rules on accepting grave marker symbols.
But Judge John Shabaz allowed the case to proceed and set a trial date for June 29.