Supreme Court to Hear Mojave Cross Case
A case involving the veterans cross memorial in the Mojave Desert goes before the U.S. Supreme Court today.
The eight-foot-high Mojave Cross Memorial is on government land in an isolated desert area, according to Hiram Sasser of Liberty Legal Institute, who tells OneNewsNow that the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of a former National Park Service employee.
“Their client is a man who lives…900 miles away [in Oregon], and he says that he might come out into the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and if he finds the memorial then he might be offended by that,” states Sasser. “And because of all that, he’s suing to have this 75-year-old veterans’ memorial in the shape of a cross torn down.”
The Liberty Legal attorney adds that the decision in the almost eight-year-old case could impact other well-known memorials around the country that happen to be on government land.
“World War I memorials in particular are typically a lone, free-standing cross — and there are two of them, very prominent ones,” Sasser notes. “One of them is three-and-a-half stories tall in Arlington Cemetery, and that would have to be torn down as well. So all of these veterans’ memorials are going to be affected by this case.”
Since 1934 a cross has stood on the site known as Sunrise Rock — and the cross has been replaced several times since. By court order, the Mojave Desert cross currently is covered by a plywood case pending release of the Supreme Court decision.
(Source: OneNewsNow)
