U.S. House Of Reps Seize San Diego Property To Protect ...A Cross.

[Leigh Meyers <leighcmeyers@xxxxxxxxx>]

Like the flag-desecration legislation that failed by one vote recently
in the Senate, and will be wielded like a machete on the Democrats come
November, it's nice to see that  our congress agrees on the *important*
things for Americans... The symbols.


Thursday, July 20, 2006

US House votes to seize San Diego cross property at center of court dispute
Jaime Jansen at 8:18 AM ET

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/07/us-house-votes-to-seize-san-diego.php

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved [roll
call] a measure [HR 5863 summary; PDF text] to seize land on Mount
Soledad in San Diego to resolve a dispute over whether a 29-foot cross
honoring Korean War veterans [backgrounder] on the property is a
government endorsement of religion under the Establishment Clause of the
First Amendment [text].

The House agreed to transfer the land to the Defense Department before
an expected appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
[official website] this fall because federal law has been more
permissive toward religious displays on public property than the
California constitution [text]. San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre
said the House measure, if it becomes law, would merely set the stage
for another court challenge because the federal government has no basis
seize the city property.

Earlier this month, US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy ordered the
continuation of a temporary stay [JURIST reports] against the removal of
the monumental cross pending the Ninth Circuit appeal. Kennedy issued
the original stay after a district court ordered [Union-Tribune report]
in May that the cross be removed by Aug. 2 and that the city be fined
$5,000 a day if it was not, finding that the cross constitutes a state
endorsement of religion.

Philip Paulson, an atheist and Vietnam War veteran, has been challenging
the cross for more than 16 years [Paulson commentary].

AP has more.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/20/us/20brfs-001.html?ex=1154059200&en=3c697651af70e3bb&ei=5065&partner=MYWAY
The San Diego Union-Tribune has local coverage.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060720-9999-1n20cross.html