Washington, DC – The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hearing arguments regarding the status of a Prince George’s County landmark. On Friday, Nov. 2 four Supreme Court justices granted a hearing request to the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission and the American Legion. Those entities are at odds with the American Humanist Association as to whether the Peace Cross is a religious symbol that must be removed from public property.
According to Scott Bomboy of Constitution Daily, “the American Legion and local families paid for the 40-foot-high monument in 1925 as a tribute to 49 veterans.” Bomboy said The Maryland-National Capital Park petition presented to one question the Supreme Court: “Whether the Establishment Clause requires the removal or destruction of a 93-year-old memorial to American servicemen who died in World War I solely because the memorial bears the shape of a cross.” The memorial was erected on private property, but a planning commission later acquired the property due to traffic concerns. A split Fourth Circuit federal appeals court ordered the cross’s removal from the current property.
“We remain confident in our legal position and look forward to presenting arguments to the Supreme Court,” said Monica Miller, senior counsel for the American Humanist Association and lead counsel on this case. “The Fourth Circuit’s decision correctly recognized that the government’s prominent Christian cross memorial unconstitutionally favors Christian veterans to the exclusion of all others.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com