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 SoledadMemorial, 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 thismemorial," 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 iconicmemorial– 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."
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
(THIS ATTORNEY DOES NOT DEFEND WE THE PEOPLE SO THIS REQUEST WILL FALL ON DEAF EARS)
(Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Joe Infranco) Infranco accused the Ninth Circuit judges of ignoring the precedent set by the Supreme Court in a similar case involving amemorialcross erected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in the Mojave National Preserve.
The first cross was erected on Mt. Soledad in 1913, and the largeconcretecross was erected in 1954 to replace a cross blown down by heavy winds in 1952. According to the Ninth Circuit decision, the 1954 cross was dedicated, "as a reminder of God’s promise to man of everlasting life and of those persons who gave their lives for our freedom."
The ACLU, which brought the suit on behalf of the Jewish War Veterans, did not return a request for comment.
(ACLU = A MARXIST UNION BY MANY PAST LAWSUIT ACTION)
Read more:U.S. court says Christian cross is unconstitutionalhttp://www.wnd.com/?pageId=247701#ixzz1A8lfG06d
THE THREE HONORABLE JUDGES ARE:
Harry Pregerson, M. Margaret McKeown, and Richard A. Paez, Circuit Judges.
See the COURT publication: JEWISH WAR VETERANS OF THE UNI V. CITY OF SAN DIEGO
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/01/04/08-56415.pdf
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