The decision was finally made by the Supreme Court today, in the case of the Mojave Desert Cross, which has been the center of controversy for the last several years. The cross has been covered in plywood throughout that time as the argument ensued. Since it was said that the cross could not be displayed on government land, a proposal was in place to transfer the spot of land which the cross sits on into private hands, so the cross could stay. A lower court had formerly denied the request, saying that the transfer did not sufficiently eliminates the concerns of those who did not want a religious symbol on public land, such as the Mojave National Preserve.
The Supreme Court announced today, however, that that lower court had gone too far by ordering that the cross be removed from it’s long time home on top of a remote rocky hill in California’s Mojave desert. The congressionally endorsed war memorial was erected by the VFW on the federal reserve over 75 years ago. In a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court supported the land transfer and decided that the cross can stay. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, “Here one Latin cross in the desert evokes far more than religion. It evokes thousands of small crosses in foreign fields marking the graves of Americans who fell in battles, battles whose tragedies are compounded if the fallen are forgotten.” He added aloud, “The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm.”
The cross was first erected in 1934, to honor soldiers who were killed in WWI and was taken care of for 50 years by John Riley Brimley, who was a World War One Army medic. People have been gathering at the site for Easter services and the like, which became routine in 1984. Various volunteers have cared for the cross since then. It was boarded up in 2002, and The Liberty Legal Institute a law firm founded in 1997 to protect religious freedoms and First Amendment rights, thankfully teamed up with The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans service organizations to defend the Mojave Cross from removal.
The whole long drawn out drama was started when a National Parks Employee complained about the transfer. Justice Samuel Alito stated that he never would have allowed the employee to bring the objection about the land being placed into the hands of the VFW to have went to court in the first place. Chief Justice John Roberts was a little more comical with his opinion. In the lower court argument, a lawyer for the side wishing to stop the land transfer suggested that they would have no problem if the cross were taken down, the land sold to the VFW, and then the cross re-erected. “I do not see how it can make a difference for the government to skip that empty ritual and do what Congress told it to do - sell the land with the cross on it,” Roberts said.
It is about time our Supreme Court and justice system stood up for our freedoms. Although it is a small victory, it is a victory nonetheless, and I, for one, am glad to accept it, not only on the behalf on Christians everywhere, but in honor of those who died for this country, so that we would have the right to place a cross in the middle of a desert without worrying that complaints would have it taken down. And as for the National Parks Employee who complained? Let's all pray for them, they seem to need it!
Posts
