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U.S. NEWS Friday 21 June 2019
Supreme Court upholds cross

on public land in Maryland

By JESSICA GRESKO Alito also wrote that the out the lawsuit by the cross'
Associated Press Maryland cross' connec- challengers altogether.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A tion to World War I was Gorsuch wrote that people
40-foot-tall, World War I important in upholding it offended by religious dis-
memorial cross can contin- because crosses, which plays shouldn't be able to
ue to stand on public land marked the graves of sue over them. Gorsuch
in Maryland, the Supreme American soldiers, became wrote that in "a large and
Court ruled Thursday in an a symbol closely linked to diverse country, offense In this Feb. 13, 2019 file photo, visitors walk around the 40-foot
important decision about the war. can be easily found" and Maryland Peace Cross dedicated to World War I soldiers in
Bladensburg, Md.
the use of religious symbols Two of the court's liberal that the answer shouldn't Associated Press
in American life. justices, Stephen Breyer be a lawsuit. He pointed
The justices said preserving and Elena Kagan, both of out that many Washington the Trump administration. ment as a "great victory."
a long-standing religious whom are Jewish, joined buildings including the Su- "The Court's decision to- In the past, similar monu-
monument is very different their conservative col- preme Court include reli- day is a win for protect- ments have met with a
from allowing the build- leagues in ruling for the me- gious symbols in their deco- ing religious freedom and mixed fate at the high
ing of a new one. And the morial, which on its base ration. American historical tradi- court. On the same day in
court concluded that the lists the names of 49 area The cross' defenders includ- tion," Justice Department 2005, for example, the court
nearly 100-year-old memo- residents who died in World ed the American Legion, spokeswoman Kelly Laco upheld a Ten Command-
rial's presence on a grassy War I. which raised money to said in a statement follow- ments monument on the
highway median doesn't vi- Justice Ruth Bader Gins- build the monument, Mary- ing the ruling. grounds of the Texas Capi-
olate the Constitution's pro- burg and Justice Sonia So- land officials who took over Maryland Gov. Larry Ho- tol while striking down Ten
hibition on the government tomayor dissented, with maintenance of the cross gan, a Republican, also Commandments displays
favoring one religion over Ginsburg writing that "the nearly 60 years ago and praised the ruling in a state- in Kentucky courthouses.q
others. Seven of the court's principal symbol of Chris-
nine justices sided with the tianity around the world
cross' backers, a lineup that should not loom over pub-
crossed ideological lines. lic thoroughfares, suggest-
The case had been closely ing official recognition of
watched for its potential that religion's paramount-
impact on other monu- cy." Ginsburg read a sum-
ments. Defenders of the mary of her dissent in court,
cross in Bladensburg, a sub- a way of expressing deep
urb of the nation's capital, disagreement. Ginsburg
had argued that a ruling is the only other justice on
against them could doom the court who is Jewish. The
hundreds of war memori- others are Christian.
als that use crosses to com- In all, seven justices wrote
memorate soldiers who to explain their views in
died. opinions that totaled some
But the case was also seen 80 pages, an indication of
as an indication of how far the depth of feeling the
the court's conservative case provoked but also dif-
majority would be willing ferences in the justices' po-
to go in approving of reli- sitions.
gious symbols in public life. The case began as a law-
In the end, a majority of the suit by three people who
justices signed on to a rela- live near the cross and the
tively narrow ruling, declin- District of Columbia-based
ing to go as far as they had American Humanist Associ-
been urged to by some of ation, which includes athe-
the cross' defenders. ists and agnostics. They
Justice Samuel Alito wrote argued that the memorial
in a majority opinion for should be moved to private
himself and four colleagues property or modified into
that "when time's passage a nonreligious monument
imbues a religiously expres- such as a slab or obelisk.
sive monument, symbol or Monica Miller, the lawyer
practice with this kind of who argued on behalf of
familiarly and historical sig- the American Humanist As-
nificance, removing It may sociation at the Supreme
no longer appear neutral." Court, said after the deci-
"A government that roams sion was announced that
the land, tearing down while the organization was
monuments with religious disappointed, the ruling is
symbolism and scrubbing "very limited" and "could
away any reference to the have been a lot worse."
divine will strike many as Two justices, Neil Gorsuch
aggressively hostile to reli- and Clarence Thomas, said
gion," Alito wrote they would have thrown