The ADF Constitution, and before that, the ADF Bylaws, have long prohibited discrimination against our LGBTI brothers and sisters. It has also prohibited discrimination against people on the 'basis of race, ancestry,' and 'color'. ADF Paganism has been available to anyone of good will since Isaac Bonewits' vision became a reality in the 1980's. And I'm very pleased to see the United States begin to catch up!

Today the US Supreme Court finally upheld the principle that our LGBTI members are full members of the community and no longer second class citizens. By upholding marriage equality they have held that anyone may marry anyone else, regardless of gender. Of course, the fight for true equality is not yet over. Opponents of equality will continue to mount rear-guard actions in an attempt to get around this decision, but I am confident that they will fail in the long run.

The whole controversy over the Confederate Battle Flag is also something to behold. Many Southern Americans see it as a symbol of their heritage and independence, while others see it as a symbol of racism. When the members of a prayer group in Charleston, SC were gunned down for purely racist reasons recently, it turned out that lots of folks were uncomfortable with what that flag could stand for, and even Southern politicians began to change their minds and remove it from their capitol grounds. Whether we believe that the flag is a racist symbol or not, the conversation that has been started about institutionalized racism in the USA can only be a good thing. It's been a long haul since the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution and the passage of the Civil Rights Act and I'm glad to see the conversation continuing. It's about time.

The Supreme Court also upheld the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) by a wide majority. While this act has lots of problems, and even though the atmosphere in the Congress is too toxic to actually fix any of those problems, the very principle that poor Americans should have access to health care has been upheld. I understand that some of us believe that the market could do a better job of achieving this, and others believe that the best route would be a single-payer system, like those that much of Europe have, but the important thing is that the principle of equal access still exists, even in a flawed form. To have thrown out Obamacare over some unfortunate wording would have sent the entire US health system into chaos, and that wouldn't have helped anyone.

So all in all it's been a good week for America. And a good week for American Pagans! I thank the Gods and Spirits for Their support and love, and may Their blessings continue to come to us all.

So be it!