Tag Archives: mount soledad

Will Vandalized War Memorial Survive Atheist Purge?

The Walk of Heroes Veterans War Memorial in Rockdale County, Georgia, was vandalized in December. A plaque, two statues, and the globe they held, all made from bronze, were ripped from the site. Three people have been arrested.

At this point, there’s no immediate indication the vandalism was connected to the nationwide purge of “racially offensive” monuments. One source estimated the cost of repairs at more than $200,000.

Another question, however, is whether the monument, repaired or not, will survive the newfound fury of atheists.

Atheist Jason Torpy and others like him have been on a crusade Read more

US Troops Visit Hill of Crosses that would be Attacked in America

paracrossesUS Army paratroopers recently visited The Hill of Crosses during a six-month deployment to Lithuania:

Members of Able Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade…

…were visiting the Hill of Crosses; a monument to the strength, pride and resolve of the Lithuanian people and everyone who has been repressed by tyranny.

Interestingly, the Hill of Crosses began as a war memorial, and it has Read more

Report: Hostility to Religion in US Military

The Liberty Institute recently published a 2014 edition of a 400-page report entitled “Undeniable: The Survey of Hostility to Religion in America” (PDF). Sections I, II, and III are “attacks” in the public arena, schoolhouse, and against churches and other religious ministries, respectively.

For the first time, the report now includes a dedicated Section IV: “Attacks in the Military.”

Similar in theme to the “Clear and Present Danger” published by the Family Research Council, the Liberty Institute report includes a list of 46 incidents representative of the hostility toward religion within the US military [emphasis added]:

Hostility once unthinkable, such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs telling grieving families as they arrive at their loved one’s funeral site that they may not have a religious funeral service, is becoming increasingly routine. Another line of hostility is a new wave of lawsuits attempting to eliminate all symbolism that touches on the numinous from our nation’s veterans memorials…

Religious freedom in the military is protected by the U.S. Constitution, Department Read more

President Signs 2015 NDAA: Mt Soledad Addressed, No Religious Liberty Provisions

For the first time in several years, Congress passed and the President signed a National Defense Authorization Act with no sections directing the US military on issues of religious liberty. Over the prior few years, Congress has inserted legislation requiring protection of religious expression within the military, for example, which resulted in changes to DoDI 1300.17 and Air Force Instruction 1-1.

One thing the NDAA does include, however, is authorization to transfer the Mount Soledad Memorial Cross to a private organization:  Read more

US Government to Defend Mount Soledad Cross

The Department of Justice has said it will “strongly” defend the Mount Soledad cross (as it has said before), the subject of a continuous legal battle for more than 25 years.  The cross was ruled unconstitutional again in December 2013.

Obama administration lawyers have told the Supreme Court they will strongly defend the 29-foot-tall cross atop Mount Soledad in San Diego as a memorial to the nation’s war veterans and not an unconstitutional promotion of Christianity by the government…

The cross was aloft more 35 years before a 1989 lawsuit claimed Read more

Mt Soledad Memorial Cross Ruled Unconstitutional. Again.

US District Judge Larry Burns ruled that the Mount Soledad war memorial cross must be removed from its perch above San Diego, but he immediately stayed his own order pending appeals.

While recent news reports have focused on the order to remove the cross, this is actually old news in the two-decade old case, and Judge Burns has essentially acted only to move the case forward — not end it. In fact, Judge Burns disagrees with his own ruling:

The five-page order, issued Thursday, makes clear that Judge Burns does not believe the Mount Soledad cross violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. “This court previously held (and continues to believe) Read more

Chuck Norris, Religious Liberty, and Michael Weinstein

Chuck Norris recently cited “36 examples of religious liberty assault” (in Part 1 and Part 2) to defend an assertion that religious liberty is under attack in America.  About a third of his examples involved the US military, all of which have been discussed here before (amplifying remarks follow):

  • Culture and courts are also trumping citizens’ First Amendment rights who are refusing on religious grounds not to support or participate with groups and events that run contrary to their faith and practice. As a result, wedding cake bakers, T-shirt makers, bed and breakfast owners, pastry shops, high-school teachers, military chaplains, restaurant owners, photographers, parents, churches and others have been harassed, bullied, suspended, fired and sued for merely exercising their Christian beliefs. [As described by CARL.]
  • A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a cross displayed as part of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, Read more
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