San Diego Union-Tribune - Federal Appeals Court says Mount Soledad Cross Unconstitutional

By Greg Moran, San Diego Union-Tribune

SAN DIEGO The 20-year legal fight over the cross on Mount Soledad took another turn Tuesday when a federal appeals court ruled the towering landmark on public land in La Jolla is an unconstitutional sign of government favoring religion.

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a blow to cross supporters, who have been battling efforts in state and federal courts to get the cross removed.

For now, opponents of the cross have prevailed. They have argued the Latin cross is an impermissible religious symbol on public land. Supporters have countered it is a secular landmark amid a larger memorial that honors military veterans and has no explicit religious meaning. . . .

. . . . Reaction to the ruling was swift and pointed. . . . The American Center for Law and Justice, which filed a brief on behalf of 25 members of Congress supporting the cross, called it a judicial slap in the face to veterans.

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