ACLJ to Represent Members of Congress in Legal Briefs to Keep San Diego's Mt. Soledad Cross in Place

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2006On the heels of the news that the City of San Diego has voted to appeal court decisions ordering the removal of the Mount Soledad cross, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) announced today that it will be representing members of Congress who are military veterans in filing friend-of-the-court briefs in support of San Diegos appeals.  At the same time, the ACLJ has collected more than 120,000 names in a national petition campaign urging President Bush and others to intervene to save the cross. We will work aggressively to support the legal efforts by San Diego to appeal court decisions ordering the removal of the cross, said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ.  This cross has been part of a war memorial for more than 50 years.  To remove this cross is an insult to the men and women who fought to protect our freedoms.  This is an issue that has generated tremendous interest beyond San Diegoin the halls of Congress and among thousands of Americans. The war memorialincluding the cross is part of the history of San Diego.

Sekulow believes that the importance of this case goes beyond protecting an individual war memorial.  This case represents an important beachhead in the battle to turn back the ACLUs national effort to sanitize our cultureto strip it of religious symbols that are part of our heritage, said Sekulow.  Were confident that this flawed legal strategy to remove the cross ultimately will fail and we remain committed to do whatever is necessary to keep the cross in place.

Sekulow said the ACLJ will be representing members of Congress who have served our nation in the militarymembers of Congress who find the decision to remove the cross from the war memorial very troubling.

In addition to filing amicus briefs in support of San Diegos legal appeals, the ACLJ launched a national petition campaign urging federal, state, and local leaders to find a solution that will keep the Mt. Soledad cross from being removed.  To date, more than 120,000 Americans have signed on to the petition. The petition is posted online at www.aclj.org.

Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the ACLJ focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.