Sunday, October 22, 2017


Federal court rules World War I memorial cross must be torn down

Back in 1925, the American Legion erected a memorial in Bladensburg, Md., to honor the memory of 49 men who perished during World War I. The 40-foot tall memorial became known as the "Peace Cross."

In 2014, the American Humanist Association -- a group that believes in "being good without a god" -- filed a lawsuit alleging the cross-shaped memorial is unconstitutional and demanding it be demolished, altered, or removed.

They alleged the cross carries "an inherently religious message and creates the unmistakable appearance of honoring only Christian servicemen."

On Wednesday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and ruled the historic memorial must be torn down -- all because the Bladensburg Memorial is in the shape of a cross.

The Fourth Circuit said the memorial excessively entangles the government in religion because the cross is the “core symbol of Christianity” and “breaches” the wall separating church and state.

The American Legion could appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

"Today's decision sets dangerous precedent by completely ignoring history, and it threatens removal and destruction of veterans memorials across America," First Liberty Institute attorney Hiram Sasser said.

“This memorial has stood in honor of local veterans for almost 100 years and is lawful under the First Amendment,” Jones Day attorney Michael Carvin said. “To remove it would be a tremendous dishonor to the local men who gave their lives during The Great War.”

SOURCE

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

“breaches” the wall separating church and state.

There is not any constitutional "wall" separating church and state.

I am an atheist, but I strongly object to tearing down crosses.

Bird of Paradise said...

Should'nt we start tearing down all those pagan religious idol dedicated to a backward pagan deity like the Quetzakcoatyle idol in Southern California or the idol of all those false gods

Anonymous said...

Did anyone involved in this ever do even a bit of research on the men this memorial was dedicated too?

If all of those men were Christian (and given the times it's quite likely they all were) then the memorial is completely appropriate for honoring their sacrifice.

Anonymous said...

The hundred-year old memorial has become an historic monument as well as a memorial to the deceased of WWI, and it would be cultural vandalism to destroy it, as well as being disrespectful to the victims of a World War. If necessary a plaque could be placed next to the memorial explaining "everything" about it, including that it was traditional to use a cross on a grave or memorial to the dead.

Spurwing Plover the fighting shorebird said...

The ACLU should be renamed the Athists Communists & Lawyers Underground after all it was founded by a Communist

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:44 is closest to my thinking.
In the Twenties the cross represented a memorial for the deceased. It did not establish or endorse any religious viewpoint - it was merely the universally recognised symbol of remembrance of the dead.
The Court has found something that was never there...

Anonymous said...

Would it not be possible - and legal - for the local governments in question in the monument-removal cases to sell the land on which the monument stands to a trustee organization, such as the American Legion in this case, for a token amount? I've seen local governments buy and sell property for token amounts - usually $1 - many times. The dollar simply appeases the law requiring some monetary exchange. Once the property belongs to anyone except a government entity, the monument can remain in place.

Stymphalian Bird the man eating bird witha brass beak and shoots his feathers said...

No where in the U.S. Constitution is there anything about the so called Separation of Church and State it just prophibits having established religion like many british Kings used to do it seems to me that their establishing Islam upon all americans by forcing all americans to abide by their backwards Sharia Laws