WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The US Supreme Court deliberated Wednesday on whether a giant cross that serves as a war memorial is an unconstitutional state religious endorsement, as secularist critics contend.
Supporters and critics of the 12-meter high Peace Cross in Bladensburg, just outside the capital Washington, presented arguments to the country’s top court, which will decide if the monument violates the First Amendment forbidding the state from promoting one religion over another.
The case is the latest example of the sensitive subject of religion-state links in America.
The cross was erected in 1925 in Maryland to honor the memory of 49 local soldiers killed in World War I, and now stands at the intersection of three busy roads.
During the hearing, justices focused on whether such a monument could be erected for other tragedies, such as in memory of victims of a shooting, regardless of religion — or whether it could be regarded as proselytizing.
For the Washington-based American Humanist Association (AHA), a plaintiff in the case, the monument represents a breach of the First Amendment because it is built on public land. The group says that $100,000 of public money has been used to maintain the cross, which they say essentially honors only Christian veterans.
“We are here to honor all veterans,” argued AHA lawyer Monica Miller.
A lower court rejected the AHA’s initial filing.
In December 2016, an appeals court ordered that the cross be either torn down, changed or moved to private land.
The American Legion, which represents military veterans, and the parks department, then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The court is not due to render a decision until June, and its finding will have an impact on numerous monuments around the country, including the two crosses at the Arlington military cemetery on the edge of Washington. — NNN-AGENCIES
