Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Supreme Court Rules Mojave Cross Can Stay ... UPDATED!

Update: From Gateway Pundit, "Supreme Court Rules Mojave Cross Can Stay -ACLU Defeated (Video)" (via Memeorandum):

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At WSJ, "High Court Says Mojave Desert Cross Can Remain":

Mohave Cross

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court decision that could have required removal of a cross that has stood in California's Mojave National Preserve for generations.

Although it splintered in its reasoning, the court suggested strongly that the cross should remain because Congress has transferred the small plot on which it stands to a private group, addressing constitutional concerns.

"The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy. "This cross," he wrote, "evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles."

The cross was originally erected on the site in 1934 by members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, to honor American soldiers who died in World War I. The cross has been maintained or rebuilt over the decades by members of the veterans group.
And at SCOTUS Blog, "Today’s Opinion: Salazar v. Buono Reversed":

Salazar v. Buono, No. 08-472