WorldNetDaily - Christian Cross Ruled Unconstitutional

By Brian Fitzpatrick, WorldNetDaily 

 
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has decided a memorial cross on federal land on Mt. Soledad, Calif. violates the U.S. Constitution.
 
In a 3-0 ruling in the Jewish War Veterans v. City of San Diego case, the panel decided that the 29-foot concrete cross, which has stood for 57 years, constitutes a government endorsement of religion and therefore violates the First Amendment's establishment clause.
 
"The question, then, is whether the entirety of the Mount Soledad Memorial, when understood against the background of its particular history and setting, projects a government endorsement of Christianity. We conclude it does," wrote Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown, a Clinton appointee.
 
"The decision represents a judicial slap in the face to the countless military veterans honored by this memorial," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the American Center for Law and Justice, which filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of 25 members of Congress. "This flawed decision not only strikes at the heart of honoring our military veterans, it reaches a faulty conclusion that this iconic memorial part of the historic landscape of San Diego is unconstitutional. We believe the appeals court got this decision wrong and we look forward to the case going to the Supreme Court where we're confident this decision will be overturned.". . . .
 
. . . . "Certainly we're upset with the decision," confirmed Joe March, national director of public relations for the American Legion, the nations largest veterans organization. "We believe it will finally get corrected once and for all when it gets to the Supreme Court. We had filed an amicus curiae and we intend to do so once again. When the government appeals to the Supreme Court, the American Legion will be there again. It's the right thing to do."
 
The American Legion has already called officially on Attorney General Eric Holder to appeal the case, which was argued by Justice Department attorneys on behalf of the Department of Defense. . . .

Read the entire story here.