Source: www.latimes.com
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, October 8, 2009: The Supreme Court debated Wednesday whether a large Latin cross standing in the Mojave National Preserve is a symbol of all fallen soldiers–including non-Christians–and whether it violates the 1st Amendment ban on establishment of religion.
The cross has existed since 1934 on a remote hill in the Mojave National Preserve. The National Park Service turned down a request to have a Buddhist symbol erected nearby, and a decade ago a former park employee charged that the government was inappropriately favoring one religion. When a lower court ruled that this stand-alone display was unconstitutional, Congress responded by transferring the cross (and the land under it) to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), a private organization. A later lower-court ruling established that Congress’ action did not solve the problem.
Justice Antonin Scalia dismissed as an “outrageous conclusion” the contention that the cross only honors the Christian dead. The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, asks, “Is Scalia seriously arguing that the cross is no longer a religious symbol? Now that is an outrageous conclusion.”
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens noted that it was designated as a national memorial and that Congress had said it must be preserved to honor America’s war dead–if not, the land and the cross would revert to government control.