Fourth Circuit declares cross shape of Bladensburg World War I Memorial violates First Amendment.
The American Legion this week appealed the Bladensburg Cross case to the Supreme Court in an effort to save a World War I memorial.
Earlier, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit declared that the cross shape of the Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial in Prince George's County, Md., violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. The memorial was erected in 1925 by local Gold Star mothers and the local American Legion post to honor 49 of Prince George’s County veterans who gave their lives while serving in World War I.
On behalf of The American Legion, First Liberty Institute and the law firm of Jones Day filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the nation’s highest court to reverse a lower court decision that could lead to the bulldozing of the memorial. A copy of the petition can be found here.
“Crosses have come to represent a symbol of the sacrifices of men and women who have given all in defense of our great nation,” American Legion National Commander Denise H. Rohan said. “Crosses have inspired war poems, helped Gold Star mothers heal and represented sacrifice for generations. In the context of this and other veterans memorials, the cross represents our fallen heroes.”
The legal case was brought forth by the American Humanist Association, a nonprofit organization that "argued the cross gives the impression that only Christians are being honored," according to a Washington Post article. The memorial was built in the shape of a cross as a remembrance of the crosses used to mark the graves of fallen American servicemembers overseas.
To learn more about the history of the Bladensburg World War I Memorial and to sign the petition to let it stand, click here. And for more information about the case, read the Burn Pit.
- Honor & Remembrance