Fate of Historic Cross to Be Decided by San Diego Voters
by James L. Lambert
May 20, 2005
(AgapePress) - The San Diego City Council voted this week to allow voters to decide the fate of the historic Mount Soledad Cross overlooking the Pacific Ocean in La Jolla. The vote represented the newest chapter in a long line of legal battles to remove the cross led by lawyer James McElroy who represents an atheist who wants the cross removed from public lands. The legal battles between the city and McElroy date back to 1989.Essentially, the vote will allow voters to decide whether they want to transfer the property to the federal parks system as a war memorial. For over 50 years the site has been recognized by the public as a place where war veterans are recognized for their service to America. The Mount Soledad Association manages the site where plaques recognize war veterans who served during times of war in the last century. Most of the veterans recognized are from the greater San Diego area.
In November, two U.S. congressmen from San Diego County -- Duncan Hunter and Randy "Duke" Cunningham -- added a provision to an appropriations bill to allow the city to designate the site as a national war memorial. The bill was signed into law by President Bush in December. If the citizens of San Diego agree with this proposal, the site will be maintained by the National Park Service. Representatives from the Mount Soledad Association and the Park Service were in Washington last week to discuss a working plan to manage the site.
Opponents of the transfer, including the American Civil Liberties Union, contend that the transfer is illegal and unconstitutional. However, attorney Charles LiMandri with the Thomas More Law Center says there is legal precedent for protecting religious symbols that are already on federal land.
While the debate involving religious symbols on public land is slowly working its way through the courts, the proposition to transfer city property to the federal government will be decided by San Diego voters in July. San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy acknowledges that "it may provoke additional litigation, but some things are worth fighting for."
Murphy, who is leaving office in July, was a supporter of a referendum that forced the city council to revisit the issue of the Mount Soledad cross. The referendum sparked a record 89,000 petitions to request that the cross be not dismantled from its present site. The referendum was put together in just a month and was widely supported by radio talk-show hosts Roger Hedgecock, Rick Roberts, Mark Larson (all from San Diego) and Paul McGuire (from Los Angeles). Slightly more than 33,000 verified signatures were required for the referendum to be successful. This minimum requirement was based on a city registered voter base of approximately 650,000 voters.
The effort resulted in a request by the city council to allow voters to decide the fate of the cross on a July 26 ballot. This initiative rescinded an earlier vote by the council that would have removed the historic cross from its present site.
James L. Lambert, a frequent contributor to AgapePress, is the author of Porn in America (Huntington House), which can be purchased through the American Family Association. He is a licensed real-estate mortgage loan sales agent and can be contacted through his website.
