Supreme Court Says War Memorial Cross Can Stay

[Nelson Muntz]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/28/supreme-court-says-war-me_n_555919.html

WASHINGTON (RNS) A divided Supreme Court on Wednesday (April 28) overruled a lower court that had said Congress erred when it transferred a war memorial cross in the Mojave National Preserve into private hands.

The 5-4 ruling means the five-foot-cross, currently encased in plywood as the case made its way through the legal system, can remain while a lower court continues to consider the case.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court's 5-4 majority, said, "The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm."

Kennedy said the district court ruling--which could have resulted in the removal of the cross--did not focus enough on the memorial's nonreligious context. The cross was erected in the California preserve primarily to memorialize American servicemen who died in World War I and not "to promote a Christian message," Kennedy wrote.

Justice Samuel Alito, in an opinion partly concurring with the plurality, said the cross had been there for almost 70 years and Congress was aware its removal might be viewed as a "sign of disrespect" to the soldiers it was designed to honor.

In an additional opinion, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Antonin Scalia said the transfer to private hands "best serves the public interest." Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the majority.

[Palehorse]

And yet, the people dare to object to a muslim community center being built 2 blocks from ground zero???