ACLU Continues War on Crosses
The man behind the lengthy dispute over a 29-foot cross on city land in San Diego has died.
Philip Paulson succumbed to liver cancer Oct. 25 at the age of 59, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Paulson, a Vietnam War veteran, led a legal battle to remove the Christian cross from the Mount Soledad War Memorial, which has overlooked San Diego for half a century.
But his case is being continued by the American Civil Liberties Union, and if efforts to bring down the cross prevail, religious symbols at Arlington National Cemetery and Gettysburg will be in jeopardy.
That’s the view of attorneys defending Mount Soledad.
“If the ACLU wins this one, they’re going to go after all these monuments (including Arlington and Gettysburg),” said Charles LiMandri, a San Diego attorney who has led efforts to bring the memorial under federal jurisdiction. “A lot of them have either religious symbols, text or some type of religious reference on them in every state in the union, and they’re all going to be at risk.
“For hundreds of years, crosses have been seen as appropriate symbols of the sacrifice someone gave for their country regardless of their religious beliefs,” he said.
When Paulson filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking to remove the Christian symbol 17 years ago, the Mount Soledad memorial was owned by the City of San Diego. The city attempted to sell the property on several occasions, but courts blocked the sales. Last year, more than 76% of San Diegans voted in a special ballot to transfer the property to the federal government as a national war memorial.
President Bush signed a bill Aug. 14 transferring the memorial to the federal government by applying the powers of eminent domain.
Lawsuits are pending in federal and state courts on three fronts. The ACLU is challenging the legality of the special ballot that authorized the city to transfer the memorial to the federal government. It is also challenging the federal legislation transferring the land.
Another case involves the appeal of a federal judge’s May 2006 ruling that the City of San Diego remove the cross within 90 days or face fines of up to $5,000 per day. In July, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy ordered a stay in that ruling. The memorial is now under federal jurisdiction.
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Posted by Jay on November 1, 2006 6:37 pm
» Filed Under ACLU, Church And State, News
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