Saturday, September 24, 2005

Hindu Group Supports Wiccan In Supreme Court

The Hindu American Foundation has filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for writ of certiorari, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to grant review in the case of Simpson v. Chesterfield County. Spero News reported yesterday on the brief (full text) which backs reversing the Fourth Circuit's decision that a Wicccan leader could be denied the opportunity to be among those who present invocations at county board of supervisors meetings.

Lawyer Nikhil Joshi, a member of HAF's Board of Directors said: "This is perhaps the most blatant affirmation of religious discrimination by any court to date. If allowed to stand, the Fourth Circuit’s decision will allow Chesterfield County to continue to selectively dole out certain governmental privileges to members of majority religions over others."