"...two widows filed a lawsuit accusing the government of unconstitutional religious discrimination. At that point, the department suddenly unveiled a proposed regulation for handling such requests.

But the department won't say whether the new policy will permit the Wiccans to use their symbol. Nor is it clear from the text, which says the department may refuse to recognize religious groups that "promote or engage in activity that is illegal or contrary to public policy," and may reject any emblem that "would have an adverse impact on the dignity or solemnity of cemeteries."

When I asked a department spokesman whether the Wiccan application would qualify under this policy, he said only that it would get "thorough consideration." The new rules didn't dissuade a federal judge from letting the lawsuit proceed.

Maybe the VA is finally ready to do the right thing. But after all the time it has spent stalling on this issue, the suspicion arises that somebody there has a major problem with the Wiccans. And it's not hard to imagine that the current secretary of veterans affairs would like to delay a resolution until the next administration, so someone else would get the blame for -- as the change will undoubtedly be portrayed -- giving a seal of approval to an evil cult.

But the question is not whether Wicca is a good or true religion -- only whether its adherents are entitled to the same rights as everyone else. The Constitution has a simple answer: yes."