City to Appeal Ruling on Removal of Cross
The City Council voted 5 to 3 Tuesday to continue a 17-year legal fight to keep a 43-foot-tall Christian cross on Mt. Soledad.
At the request of Mayor Jerry Sanders, the council voted to appeal a federal judge’s order that the cross be removed by early August because it violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The city has been fighting a lawsuit filed by an atheist and military veteran who feels that the cross, erected in 1954, is discriminatory because it sits on public land.
The atheist’s lawyer, James McElroy, said he believes the council’s action has only a remote chance of success. City Atty. Michael Aguirre has also suggested the city is doomed to failure. The judge has ruled that he will fine the city $5,000 a day if it refuses to move the cross.
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