LOS ANGELES
(Reuters) - A massive cross that serves as part of a war memorial on a
San Diego hilltop must be dismantled because it has been found to
violate a constitutional ban on government endorsement of religion, a
federal judge grudgingly ruled on Thursday.
The
decision by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns marks the latest
development in a long-running legal battle over the 43-foot-tall cross, a
local landmark that has stood on top of Mount Soledad since 1954 and is
visible for miles.
Burns
stayed his order to give the Obama administration and the association
that erected the cross, which have fought its removal all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court, a chance to file another appeal. Otherwise, he
said, the monument must be taken down within 90 days.
"This
is a victory for religious liberty," said Daniel Mach, director of the
American Civil Liberties Union's program on freedom of religion and
belief who argued the matter for the plaintiffs in a hearing before
Burns on Thursday.
"We firmly
support the government's efforts to honor the service of those who
fought and died for this country, but there are many ways to do that
without playing favorites with religion," Mach said.
The case hinged on whether
it is legal for a religious symbol to be prominently displayed on public
land and whether the cross violated the U.S. Constitution's requirement
on separation of church and state.
The
Mount Soledad cross has been the subject of litigation since 1989, when
two veterans sued San Diego to get it off city land. In 2006, Congress
intervened in the dispute, resulting in the federal government taking
ownership of the property.
A
group of plaintiffs, including the Jewish War Veterans of the United
States of America, then sued. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
court ruled that the dominance of the cross conveyed a message of
government endorsement of religion.
The
Obama administration and the Mount Soledad Memorial Association, which
erected the cross, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, supported by 20
U.S. states and various veterans groups in arguing the cross should be
allowed as part of the memorial.
In
June 2012, the Supreme Court declined to take the case, letting the
Ninth Circuit's ruling stand. In ordering that the cross be taken down,
Burns said on Thursday he did not agree with the Ninth Circuit's ruling
but that his hands were tied.
The
cross, located between the Pacific Ocean and a major interstate
highway, is surrounded by walls displaying granite plaques that
commemorate veterans or veterans groups. Easter services were held
annually at the cross from 1954 until at least 2000, according to court
documents.
The Mount Soledad
Memorial Association, which erected the cross in place of another cross
that had stood on that spot since 1913, could not immediately be reached
for comment on Thursday's ruling.
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