CARSON CITY -- The widow of a Nevada Army National Guard member killed last year in Afghanistan met with a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs official Wednesday to try to get her husband's Wiccan symbol of faith approved for his memorial plaque.

Roberta Stewart, wife of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, met with William Tuerk, undersecretary for memorial affairs within the veterans department, but was told no action on approving the Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star, for use in veterans cemeteries would be taken anytime soon.

Stewart, speaking by telephone from Washington, D.C., said Tuerk told her that the rules to approve an emblem of belief for use on a headstone or memorial plaque were incorrectly adopted and need to be redone.

Tuerk would not offer a timeline, and Stewart said her only option now is to file a lawsuit on First Amendment grounds.

An attorney has been hired, but Stewart said he would not be named until today.

Stewart's plaque with the symbol cannot be placed at the cemetery until it is approved for use. The spot where his plaque would be is blank.

Tuerk offered a plaque with no symbol, but Stewart refused.

The agency has recognized other emblems over the years, including one for atheists, for Buddhists and for many Christian denominations.

Stewart died Sept. 25 when his Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. Four others also died.

Wiccans, also known as neopagans, are a loosely confederated group of nature religious practitioners. Their beliefs date to before Christianity and focus on the natural world.

Many of their observances fall around specific times of the year, such as the summer and winter solstice.

Stewart said the agency's refusal to recognize the symbol of her faith is discrimination.