December 2017 Church & State - December 2016

Federal Appeals Court Rules Against Md. Cross Display

  AU admin

A federal appeals court has ruled that a towering cross on public land in Bladensburg, Md., is unconstitu­tional and should be removed.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the religious symbol, which its defenders insist is a memorial to World War I veterans, “aggrandizes the Latin cross,” which, the court majority noted, “is the core symbol of Christianity.”

Added the court, “And here it is, 40 feet tall; prom­inently displayed in the center of one of the busiest intersections in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and maintained with thousands of dollars in government funds.”

The appeals court’s Oct. 18 decision in American Hum­anist Association v. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission reverses a 2015 district court ruling that stated the cross was not predominantly religious. The American Humanist Association, an ally of Americans Uni­ted, filed the lawsuit challenging the cross’s place on public property on behalf of several plaintiffs.

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Com­mission, which maintains the site, has asked the entire 4th Circuit Court to consider an appeal of the ruling. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who criticized the decision, says the state will back the appeal.

BREAKING NEWS

Americans United & the National Women’s Law Center file suit to challenge Missouri’s abortion bans.

Abortion bans violate the separation of church and state. Americans United and the National Women’s Law Center—the leading experts in religious freedom and gender justice—have joined forces with thirteen clergy from six faith traditions to challenge Missouri’s abortion bans as unconstitutionally imposing one narrow religious doctrine on everyone.


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