Judge Orders Removal of Cross From Veteran's Memorial

Last week, I posted a story about a Satanist group that intends to erect a monument near a monument of the Ten Commandments in Oklahoma City. For those interested in church and state issues, the case of the cross on top of Mt. Soledad in La Jolla, California, might be of interest. The cross was erected in 1954. In 2006, the federal government took the property and everything on it, including the cross, through the power of eminent domain. Thereafter, the cross was declared a national war memorial. No doubt many veterans appreciated it.


But, in 2006, after the cross was declared a national memorial, the cross was challenged in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America and various local residents. In 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the cross violated the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case in 2012, kicking it back down to the 9th Circuit, which ordered the cross removed.


I suppose this illustrates the point that those tempted to blame the issue on the Satanists in the case in Oklahoma should consider that other religions may object just as well to apparent government entanglement or endorsement of one religion. It personally doesn't bother me to see religious symbols of any kind in public places. I do recognize, however, that there are many who want a completely secular society. Certainly, the framers specifically prohibited entanglement and endorsement of religion by the state. It is just as certain that the Supreme Court of the United States will never be done interpreting what exactly those two words mean.