Bob Barr met with his constituents May 29, 1999 at the Marietta, GA public library.   Lowell McFarland lowell@optonline.net   reported that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, USA., has an article about US Representative Barr,  facing Witches at a town meeting, over his anti-Witch demands of the US Military.  You can find the article at:
http://www.accessatlanta.com:80/news/1999/05/30/barr.html

Here is an account of the meeting by Arwen Nightstar, a local Witch:

"I was there!! It was an interesting lesson in "we don't care what you think" from Bob Barr. He was very very consistent in his answers. He said that freedom of religion applied to the public sector but not to the military sector.

"There were 25-40 pagans there. Lady Galadriel (Book of New Laws) and Lady Twylight from Ravenwood (I think?) were there as well. We had Lady G's son there in full JRROTC uniform looking fine fine fine! One of my students was there but she wasn't in uniform as she had been told by her Sarge that it was a borderline demonstration. Of course, it wasn't.....but better safe than sorry in that!

"Several ex-milpags spoke up and so eloquently! They spoke of tolerance...of the fact that the freedom of religion they were fighting for was for everyone not just a few. Many many of us (not me..not a constituent and not a milpag) asked him what religions he felt we should protect.

"One of his own constituents asked him why he was dinking around with a mickey mouse 1st Amendment issue when there were so many more important things going on. Many of the pagans there felt she was a shill and was primed to take the wind out of our sails with that. I felt quite differently. I thought she was telling him that his views on this were not supported by his voters and that they felt his time could be spent
more wisely elsewhere.

"Just one witch's view...."

PEACE!~pass it on~
May you be blessed, Arwen
http://www.mindspring.com/~arwennightstar
I am not limited by my eyesight. ~"Don Juan De Marco"

Also see the following article from the Austin-American Statesman Newspaper in Austin Texas

Published: May 28, 1999

Under a bright moon Saturday night, the witches of Fort Hood will honor a chaplain for supporting the right of Wiccans to practice their rituals on the Army post.

At the same time in Atlanta, U.S. Rep. Bob Barr will face off with witches there over his demand that Fort Hood immediately stop allowing Wiccans to openly practice their faith on the post.

Fort Hood, the first U.S. military installation to sanction the neo-pagan Wicca religion, became an object of national media attention after an Austin American-Statesman story on the issue earlier this month. Last week, Georgia Republican Barr turned up the heat with a letter to Lt. Gen. Leon S. LaPorte, Fort Hood's commanding officer, demanding that the huge Army post "stop this nonsense now."

Fort Hood officials say the witches stay, and they have the support of U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, whose district includes the military installation.

"As a Christian, I have serious differences with the philosophy and practices of Wicca," said Edwards,   "But it would be terrible policy to require each installation commander to define what is a religion and decide which religions can be practiced by American citizens."

Following Fort Hood's lead, other U.S. military bases worldwide now are affording Wiccans the same right as Christians, Jews and Muslims to have services on base.

In his letter to the Fort Hood commander, Barr said that allowing witches to openly practice their faith at the post may win praise from liberals, but "its effect on the combat readiness of your troops may be far less spectacular, to say nothing of its detrimental effects on our society more broadly speaking, which has heretofore looked to our military as epitomizing the American spirit of 'for God and country.' "

David Oringderff, founder and high priest of the Sacred Well Congregation of Texas -- which sponsors the witches on Fort Hood and three other U.S. military bases -- sent Barr a response, asking the congressman to apologize. Oringderff is a retired major who served 22 years in the Army.

"As a psychologist and sociologist, I am painfully aware that, despite constitutional guarantees and protection under law, intellectual and spiritual bigotry is alive and well in this country," Oringderff wrote.

Witches, he told Barr, "are quite accustomed to naive notions and caustic rhetoric from zealots," but they are not used to "such remarks coming from a man of your stature."

The mention of Wicca and its adherents, witches, conjures up images of women casting evil spells, making human sacrifices and selling their souls to the devil. Those images, introduced in ancient times by the Roman Catholic Church to describe heretics, have nothing to do with modern witchcraft. Wicca is a reconstruction of nature worship, primarily from tribal Europe; adherents believe in a god and goddess and celebrate cycles of the sun and moon.

Lt. Col. Benjamin Santos, a spokesman for Fort Hood, said the post has no official comment on Barr's letter. "It is inappropriate for us to discuss the contents of private correspondence from a member of Congress," Santos said. However, he added, the military installation has not changed its policy on Wicca.

At home, Barr is in trouble with the local Wiccans. Witches, including active military, plan to confront him Saturday during a previously planned town hall meeting at a public library.

"If anywhere there needs to be the freedom of religion . . . it should be military bases," said the Rev. Candace Lehrman, founder and director of the Ravenwood Church and Seminary of Wicca in Atlanta. "They are there to protect our country."

Saturday night in Killeen, the Fort Hood Open Circle -- the post's Wiccan group -- will honor Lt. Col. Donald Troyer, the chaplain who has defended and supported the witches. "We're responding to the First Amendment . . . and we're glad to do it," Troyer said in an earlier
interview.

Barr said sanctioning Wicca on military bases sets a dangerous precedent.

"What's next?" Barr asked in his letter to the Fort Hood commander. "Will Rastafarians demand the inclusion of ritualistic marijuana cigarettes in their rations?"

In order for a religious group to be sanctioned by a military base, it must meet criteria including no participation in illegal activity and sponsorship by a legally incorporated church.

"Minority faith groups have been supported by chaplains for 20 to 30 years, and we follow the same regulations and follow the same rules as Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists, Mormons and any other minority faith groups," Oringderff said. "I find it ridiculous that we as a group are singled out for who we are and what we do and that we choose to express our faith in ways other than what the dominate culture chooses to express theirs."

END  TRANSCRIPTION OF ARTICLE

Lady Liberty League News #3, Tuesday, May 25, 1999; updated Wednesday, May 26, 1999

NEWS ALERT: Wiccan Religion Under Attack

A campaign of disinformation and discrimination has been launched against the Wiccan religion as a whole and against Wiccans in the US Military in particular.

In a widely circulated May 18, 1999 press release (http://www.house.gov/barr/p_051899.html), sent to media, government officials, and others, Rep. Barr of Georgia's 7th Congressional District not only ridiculed and defamed the Wiccan religion with his remarks, but demanded that the US Military treat the Wiccan religion differently than other religions in accommodating the religious needs of military personnel. Having seen a news report about Wiccans in the military taking part in a Spring Equinox ritual at Fort Hood in Texas, Rep. Barr called for an end to Wiccan circles being held at military installations and began his campaign against fair and equal treatment of the Wiccan religion by the US government.

Barr's press release and his subsequent remarks about this are specifically directed toward Wiccans and contain comments that are insulting, demeaning, and derogatory to the Wiccan religion. Barr advocates that the United States military treat those who practice Wicca in a discriminatory manner, by revoking their Constitutional right to worship.

Barr maintained his stand even after he was inundated with educational material and other feedback from numerous Wiccan and Pagan sources, including that sent by Wiccan constituents from his own district.

This type of attack from an elected official of the United States government sets a dangerous precedent and challenges our basic Constitutional right to worship in a manner of our personal choosing. The impact upon the Wiccan-Pagan community could be horrific. Because of the First Amendment implications of this campaign, it should be of concern not only to Wiccans and Pagans, but to those of all religions.

PAGAN RESPONSE UPDATE

Already Wiccans and other Pagans from many paths and organizations have begun responding to this situation. A letter to Rep. Barr written by David Oringderff, executive director of the Sacred Well Congregation which sponsors the Fort Hood Open Circle, has been widely circulated on Capitol Hill.   In addition, he has been interviewed by national media, including FOX news. The Military Pagan Network issued a press release
(http://www.witchvox.com/cases/bb_mpn.html) and its coordinator, John Machete was interviewed on the BBC Outlook radio program which aired on National Public Radio. Covenant of the Goddess also has issued a press release.

Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary has provided background information to media, government officials, and others, and has been coordinating Lady Liberty League network efforts on this issue. Stephen Kastner of Circle Sanctuary has been posting updates on the situation as well as links on the LLL home page. A history of support Circle Sanctuary has provided to Wiccans and other Pagans in the military for more than twenty years is now on-line at: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty/military/index.htm

Lady Galadriel, national membership officer of Covenant of the Goddess, is helping to organize response from Pagans in Rep. Barr's Congressional District in Georgia, including a press conference and gathering held in connection with an upcoming Town Meeting Barr is holding with constituents in Marietta, Georgia. The Magickal Cauldron website (http://www.magickalcauldron.com/bobbarr.html ) includes information about these events as well as articles that document Barr's attacks on the Wiccan religion. Wren of The Witches Voice has been posting info and views (http://www.witchvox.com/cases/bobbarr.html).

ACTION NEEDED

Rep. Barr's campaign already has begun having an impact. Some Wiccan circles at military bases are now in danger of being shut down and moved off base. Some military chaplains have been pressured to stop their support services for Wiccans and other Pagans in the US Military. Additional anti-Witch politicians are becoming publicly visible and proclaiming their bigoted views. National/global media coverage of the controversy is growing, and some on-line sites are carrying articles http://cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/05/18/barr.wiccan.ap/

Please preserve religious freedom for Wiccans and Pagans. Here are some ways you can help:

EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS

Write to your US Congressional Representative: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Write to both of your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/

Give direct feedback to Barr: Rep. Bob Barr, U.S. House of Representatives
1207 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515-4611
Phone: (202) 225-2931 * Fax: (202) 225-2944
website: http://www.house.gov/barr
email: barr.ga@mail.house.gov or barrb@mindspring.com

Express your opinions on-line at websites covering this issue, such as
http://home.digitalcity.com/houston/national_hotissue/main.dci

Write to your local newspapers. Let the editors hear your voices.

You do not need to identify yourself as Wiccan or Pagan in expressing your views. Simply address your concerns about the breaches of the First Amendment. Do NOT send emotional tirades. Letters should be concise (not more than one page), polite and intelligently written. Make sure your information is accurate. Remember who you are writing to. Keep in mind that that your presentation can reflect on the entire Pagan community.

NETWORK WITH OTHERS

Spread the word about this situation to others concerned about religious freedom, whether they be Pagan or not. Forward copies of this email to all those who may be willing to help.

Send copies of any letters you write and reports of other responses to this situation to the Lady Liberty League archives: email: circle@mhtc.net (with LLL update in subject line); postal address: LLL archives, Circle Sanctuary, PO Box 219, Mt. Horeb, WI 53572 USA; telephone: (608) 924-2216;  fax: (608 924-5961.

Add links to Circle Sanctuary's Lady Liberty League website: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/liberty

Send suggestions of links with relevant news to: circle@mhtc.net (with LLL links in subject line).

If you are a constituent in Barr's 7th Congressional District of Georgia, please support the Wiccan-Pagan Educational Association's efforts in connection with Rep. Barr's Town Meeting on Saturday, May 29 at 10 am at Marietta Main Branch Library, 266 Roswell Street in Marietta. Wiccan and Pagan constituents are needed to attend the Town Meeting itself. Wiccans and other Pagans who are not constituents are asked to attend the Wiccan-Pagan press conference instead which will be held in the Marietta Town Square (corner of Marietta and Roswell streets) beginning at 9:30 am. Whichever event you attend, please dress conservatively (no ritual garb or tools). Behave and speak with dignity. Media will be present. If you plan to attend, please contact Lady Galadriel by email (RealLadyG@aol.com) and/or by telephone (404-296-6429) for more details.

INVOKE LADY LIBERTY

Call on the Goddess of Liberty in your circles and meditations and ask Her help in supporting religious freedom for Wiccans and other Pagans.

Send blessings of protection, healing, and well-being to Wiccans and other Pagans in the US Military, to participants in the upcoming Pagan Educational Gathering in Georgia, and to others speaking out publicly on behalf of Wiccan and Pagan religious freedom.

END EXCERPT