END OF THE JUDEO-CHRISTIANITI RELIGION IN AMERICA
Mount
Soledad Cross Ordered To Come Down As Judge Rules For Removal Of San Diego War
Memorial
By
ELLIOT SPAGAT 12/12/13
10:00 PM ET EST 
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SAN
DIEGO (AP) — A judge on Thursday ordered that a war memorial cross atop a San
Diego mountain be removed from federal property in 90 days but said the ruling
would be put on hold if it is appealed.
U.S.
District Judge Larry Burns wrote that "it's time for finality" in the case, 22
years after another judge ordered the 43-foot cross atop Mount Soledad to be
taken down.
The
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2011 that the cross violated the
constitutional separation of church and state. After the Supreme Court declined
review, the case went back to Burns to consider possible
alternatives.
Burns
rejected arguments that Congress may eventually agree to transfer the land to a
private party.
"If
a transfer were underway or were imminent, or there was a strong prospect of a
transfer, the question would be more difficult," he wrote in a five-page
ruling.
Burns
said he believed the cross doesn't represent a government attempt to promote
religion but acknowledged that the appellate court ruled
differently.
The
lawsuit names Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as a defendant. Justice Department
spokesman Wyn Hornbuckle declined to say if the government will
appeal.
Charles
LiMandri, an attorney for the Mount Soledad Memorial Association, said Supreme
Court Justice Samuel Alito has signaled that the group backing the cross could
return directly to the nation's high court if it disapproved of Burns'
ruling.
"Unless
the U.S. Supreme Court denies review or takes it and finds it unconstitutional,
that cross isn't going anywhere," LiMandri said. "At that point, we'll go to
Congress. We're not giving up."
The
American Civil Liberties Union represented the Jewish War Veterans of the United
States of America and several local residents to challenge display of the
cross.
"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. "But we should honor all of our heroes under one
flag, not just one particular religious symbol."
The
cross, which offers sweeping ocean views from San Diego's La Jolla area, was
used for Easter celebrations in the early 1900s and became a memorial to Korean
War veterans in the 1950s.
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