Indy Start column: Pagans incensed by court ruling on Wicca

[brooklynite]

Intersting followup to last week's court case:
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The city may be the national garden spot for the pagans. People come here from miles around for Pagan Pride Day every summer. That's when pagans get together in a sort of community outreach, trying to educate the public about their beliefs and to gain acceptance.

Pagan Pride Day is such a hit that pagans in cities across the nation have duplicated the event. But it got its start in 1998 in Indy.

...snip...

Meanwhile, pagans across the city, state and nation know a rallying point when they see one. They've been busy expressing their indignation on various Web sites and to the media.

But they also recognize a golden PR moment -- an opportunity to set the record straight. "We are not Satanists or all cute little 20-somethings who can wiggle our nose and cast spells," said an exasperated Duke Egbert, who edits NewWitch.com, an online magazine. He lives in Indy.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050531/COLUMNISTS02/505310398/1006/NEWS01

[etherealtruth]

1. Hopefully, this is an outrage to us all ...

...I don't want the government deciding if I should raise my children with religious beliefs or not, nor do I want the government (through the courts or other) deciding what appropriate religious or spiritual beliefs are ... :mad:

[IndianaGreen]

2. We non-Pagan Hoosiers need to attend the next Pagan Pride Day

to express our solidarity to the latest victims of the American Taliban!

BTW, in the Indiana forum I posted what happened when I called Judge Bradford's office to express my dismay at his court ruling:

Leave a message for Judge Bradford at [phone]

That's the number listed on the Court's website. When you call, you will hear a recorded message saying that they have changed the menu options. The options include other courts!

You will have to press 0 to speak to a real human, and wait on the line for a clerk to come on.

Court: Civil Division 1
Judge: Cale Bradford
Room: W-407
Location: 4th Floor West Wing
Phone: [phone]

I called earlier today. The woman that answered the phone at Civil Court 1 (Judge Bradford's court) was quite shocked when I told her that they were on the internet on account of the judge.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=151x2491#2522