Will cross be saved?

Today, Justice Anthony Kennedy issued a stay while supporters of the cross continued their legal fight to keep the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial intact. The Supreme Court refused to get involved in this fight three years ago between the city of San Diego and Philip Paulson, a self-proclaimed atheist and Vietnam veteran.

Justice Kennedy ordered the stay with no comment, acting for the high court, pending a further order from him or the entire Supreme Court.

Mayor Jerry Sanders says the cross is part of a memorial and should be given the same exemptions to government-maintained religious symbols as those granted to other war monuments. But, in May, U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr. disagreed, and ordered the flag be removed by August 2. If it was not removed, they would face a $5,000 fine for each day the order was not obeyed.

Last year, San Diego voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposition to transfer the land beneath the cross to the federal government. The measure was designed to absolve the city of responsibility for the cross under the existing lawsuit. But a California Superior Court judge found the proposition to be unconstitutional.

Looks like the people have another chance at keeping the cross where it is right now.

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