Posted on 01/29/2003 3:10:40 AM PST by kattracks
(CNSNews.com)- An honor guardsman who was fired last year by the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for offering religious blessings at funerals has rejected an offer to have his job back, his attorney said Tuesday.
Patrick Cubbage, 54, a Vietnam veteran and former police officer from Philadelphia, had been looking for work for three months since being fired, according to his attorney, John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute. A settlement proposed by the state was "inadequate," and the dispute may now become a lawsuit, Whitehead said.
"All he wants is fairness. If they're fair with him, I think it could be settled, but I'm not sure they're going to do that," Whitehead said.
Cubbage was hired part-time in October 2001 as an honor guardsman at the Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans' Memorial Cemetery in Burlington County, N.J.
Working between 20 and 30 hours a week, Cubbage participated in about 2,000 burial services during his employment at the cemetery.
As part of his regular ceremonial duties, Cubbage would present a folded U.S. flag to the deceased's next of kin.
In accordance with protocol, Cubbage would say, "This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of appreciation for your loved one's honorable and faithful service."
Cubbage also regularly said, "God bless you and this family, and God bless the United States of America."
After other honor guards objected to the religious blessing, a supervisor approached Cubbage last October and told him the religious blessing could no longer be given unless the deceased's family formally requested it, according to Whitehead.
Cubbage was fired Oct. 31 after he offered a blessing, even though the deceased's family said they would welcome it.
Cubbage said he got the words from the Flag Presentation Protocol, given to him by the Department of Defense when he started his job.
The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs issued a letter backing up Cubbage's use of the words "God bless" if the next of kin had expressed a religious preference or belief, said Whitehead, whose Charlottesville, Va.-based legal organization specializes in religious rights matters.
"Their own protocol allows that, otherwise they wouldn't have hired him back," Whitehead said.
A spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs confirmed that Cubbage had been offered his job back but insisted he had not followed the protocol in the course of his work.
"The reason for his dismissal was that he deviated from the protocol," said Lt. Col. Roberta Niedt, a public affairs officer.
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office sent Cubbage an offer to review, but as of Tuesday afternoon, the matter was still "in negotiation," Niedt said.
Whitehead said the issue escalated because, in today's cultural climate, God and the mention of God are politically incorrect.
"I think what's at stake is if these things are not fought, at least on a legal basis, we're going to erase our cultural heritage," he said.
E-mail a news tip to Lawrence Morahan.
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Carolyn
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