Radio Recap: BREAKING: SCOTUS Rules Memorial Cross Constitutional

By 

Jay Sekulow

|
June 20, 2019

2 min read

American Heritage

A

A

Big victory out of Supreme Court, defending the Peace Cross memorial in Maryland.

Today on the show, we discussed the 7-2 ruling by the Supreme Court that the Bladensburg Cross, a memorial erected in 1925 to honor those U.S. soldiers lost in World War I. Justice Samuel Alito authored the high court’s opinion, pointing out removing the cross would actually show hostility towards religion:

For nearly a century, the Bladensburg Cross has expressed the community’s grief at the loss of the young men who perished, its thanks for their sacrifice, and its dedication to the ideals for which they fought.

It has become a prominent community landmark, and its removal or radical alteration at this date would be seen by many not as a neutral act but as the manifestation of “a hostility toward religion that has no place in our Establishment Clause traditions.”

Justice Alito even referenced a case I argued before the Supreme Court and won in a 9-0 decision – Pleasant Grove Vs Summum a decade ago.

An atheist group known as the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit claiming to representing local atheists who were offended by the very knowledge that the cross was even there.

As Jordan has pointed out before, there isn’t even any religious text on the memorial. It is simply a monument to honor local fallen heroes who gave their lives defending freedom. We all agreed the Bladensburg Cross is little more than a large tombstone, as the bodies of many of the fallen in WWI never made it home. Just as atheists cannot demand that tombstones shaped as crosses, or the Star of David, or any other religious imagery be removed from a cemetery, they have no basis to demand the Bladensburg Cross be torn down.

This case seems to have been nothing more than yet another hostile attack on religion. Thankfully, the Supreme Court saw through that and ruled that cross can stand tall in tribute to our heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice. They deserve at least that much.

We also discussed the developing situation in Iran, where Iranian forces shot down a high-altitude U.S. Navy drone over the Strait of Hormuz in a completely unprovoked attack that could be considered an act of war. We will continue to keep you updated.

You can listen to the entire episode here.