ANOTHER ACLU OUTRAGE:
A 43-foot tall cross that was erected atop Mt. Soledad in San Diego, California 50 years ago to honor our nation’s veterans faces imminent removal unless we act now.
An ACLU-backed atheist has waged a 15-year court battle to force removal of the famous cross, and a federal court has ordered the city of San Diego to remove it.
However, one option remains.
Federal law known as the Antiquities Act authorizes the President to designate landmarks and structures as national monuments and make the property on which the monument stands federal property. President Clinton used this law to establish numerous new national monuments during his term.
In addition, the Historic Sites Act allows the Secretary of the Interior to designate certain sites national historic landmarks and bring them under the care of the National Park Service.
Just this month, on Veterans' Day, a new plaque was added to the Mt. Soledad Memorial to honor President Reagan, further strengthening its status as a monument worthy of national protection. Thus, it is fitting that the President formally designate Mt. Soledad as a national memorial park for veterans, and save it from destruction at the hands of the ACLU.
President Bush can save the historic cross from another ACLU-backed removal by designating Mt. Soledad a national monument.
The Antiquities Act authorizes the President to designate landmarks and structures as national monuments. President Bush must make the Mount Soledad cross a national monument.
What if the President designated it a national historic landmark instead? Would it be protected then?
If a court ordered it taken down anyway, then the logical next step would be to condemn the Old North Church in Boston, e.g., and order the land put up for auction.
Ditto the National Cathedral in Washington, where President Bush gave his great address after the 9/11 attacks.