Atheist Denied in Bid to Dramatically Alter Wording on Soledad Cross Ballot
by James L. Lambert
June 10, 2005
(AgapePress) - The attorney for atheist Phillip Paulson was denied by a San Diego judge on Thursday (June 9) in his bid to strike five full statements from a July 26 ballot initiative that would effectively allow San Diego voters to decide the fate of a historic cross located on the top of Mt. Soledad. Via that initiative, voters will be able to decide if they want to transfer the city-owned site to the federal government where it would be designated as a war memorial. Paulson contends that the 43-foot-tall cross, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean, should be removed because it is on government property. Five local personalities -- radio talk-show hosts Roger Hedgecock and Rick Roberts, baseball announcer Jerry Coleman, U.S. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and SoledadNational.com director Phil Thalheimer -- joined attorney Charles LiMandri in opposing the challenge brought forth by Paulson's attorney, James McElroy. (See earlier story)
LiMandri, who is West Coast director for the Thomas More Law Center (http://www.thomasmore.org), says the judge agreed to "remove only four words, and revised one out of the approximately 300 words" that were in question. In an exclusive interview, LiMandri noted that McElroy was visibly "not pleased with the decision of the judge."
Superior Court Judge William Pate also ruled that Coleman's name will be allowed to be on the ballot as a signer in favor of the initiative. Claims were made by the opposition that the paperwork to include the name of the sports personality were "turned in too late." Coleman, the well-known radio voice of the San Diego Padres, will be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame later this summer.
The battle for the war memorial and the cross has been an ongoing legal struggle for 16 years. In 1989, McElroy and his client first told San Diego city leaders that the cross was unconstitutionally placed, requesting its removal.
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.
