Judge orders removal of long-standing war memorial cross

mount-soledad-cross

A San Diego federal court ruled Thursday that a giant cross that has stood atop a Southern California mountain for decades is unconstitutional and must be removed.

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered the 43-foot Latin cross, erected on San Diego’s Mount Soledad in 1954 to honor Korean War veterans, to come down within 90 days, according to NBC San Diego.

However, he immediately stayed his ruling in anticipation that it would be appealed.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Jewish Veterans of the United States of American as well as several local residents, has been fighting for the cross’s removal since 2006.

“We support the government paying tribute to those who served bravely in our country’s armed forces,” said Daniel Mach, director of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, in a press release Thursday, according to the NBC affiliate. “But we should honor all of our heroes under one flag, not just one particular religious symbol.”

“A national war memorial should stand for all of those who served,” said Norma Chavez-Peterson, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, in a press release. “It is inappropriate and unconstitutional to declare a deeply religious symbol that excludes those outside of that faith as a monument to all veterans.”

Although the ruling disappointed Bruce Bailey, president of the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association, he told Fox News that “we are grateful for the judge’s stay that gives us an opportunity to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court.”

Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for the Liberty Institute, told Fox News in a statement that it pledges to “fight for this memorial and the selfless sacrifice and service of all the millions of veterans it represents; it is the least we can do for those who gave so much to us all.”

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Comments are closed.

Latest Articles