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Tuesday November 23, 2004
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U.S. Congress Acts to Save Mountain-Top Cross - Atheist Blames 'Jihad Jesus Republicans'
RANCHO SANTA FE, CA, November 23, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a surprising turn of events, the United States Congress has joined the fight to keep the 43-foot tall cross atop Mount Soledad in San Diego, California, by designating the land on which it stands and the granite memorial walls surrounding it, a national veterans memorial. The congressional action came as a result of efforts by the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan that fights for the religious freedom of Christians.
San Diego area Congressmen, Reps. Duncan Hunter, R -El Cajon, and Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido, inserted the memorial designation as part of a spending bill awaiting approval by President Bush.
Phillip Paulson, the atheist who mounted a successful 15- year legal battle to remove the cross with support from the ACLU, told the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Jihad Jesus Republicans need to understand that the separation of church and state has kept this country from getting into religious wars."
The ACLU of San Diego also criticized the legislation calling it "political gamesmanship".
San Diego attorney Charles LiMandri, Director of the Law Center's western regional office who has led the effort to save the Mt. Soledad cross, called the congressional action "an act of God". LiMandri said Congress was not unconstitutionally endorsing religion because it intended to honor veterans in the same manner as the crosses at Arlington National Cemetery.
President Bush is expected to sign the bill within the next few weeks.
jhw
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