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Lawsuit Prompts Santa Clara to Remove Large Granite Cross
NBC Bay Area ^ | Jan 13, 2017 | Ian Cull

Posted on 01/14/2017 11:34:01 AM PST by nickcarraway

The city has donated the cross to Santa Clara University

The battle over a large iconic cross in the South Bay has come to an end.

After standing in Santa Clara for more than six decades, the 14-foot cross was taken down -- by a lawsuit.

A Santa Clara man and Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation sued the city last April, claiming the cross violated the separation of church and state because it stood in a public park.

"We are happy that the city divested itself of this religious symbol, and that the constitution is now being complied with," said Rebecca Markert, attorney for Freedom From Religion Foundation.

The granite cross was donated by the Santa Clara Lion's Club in 1953 to mark the site of the second Spanish Catholic mission established in the city in 1777.

City councilmembers settled with the man who filed the suit, and said a compromise was necessary.

"Some people feel like we've caved in or succumbed to the arguments of a relatively small number of people, but as I said, they do have a number of legal precedents on their side," councilmember Teresa O'Neill said.

As part of the settlement, the city donated the cross to Santa Clara University, where it will be placed on campus in the future.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: antichristianbigotry; bluezones; cross; lawsuit
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To: onona

Was Aunt Clara Samantha Stevens confused elderly witch aunt?


21 posted on 01/14/2017 12:14:57 PM PST by xzins (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.)
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To: Jack Black

That MLK statue looks like it was made by North Korea.


22 posted on 01/14/2017 12:42:45 PM PST by captain_dave
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To: nickcarraway

When I was in high school, we were taught that separation of church and state simply meant that there was no official religion of the country, that all people were free to practice the religion of their choice. How we got from there to the bias against any religion (although Christians and Jews are the primary target) is a sordid story of liberalism, minority rights, and legal expenses or the threat thereof. I don’t know that we can ever revert back to the former attitude toward religion but pray that we will.


23 posted on 01/14/2017 12:47:30 PM PST by Boomer One ( ToUsesn)
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To: captain_dave

That MLK statue looks like it was made by North Korea.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Close. The sculptor was Lei Yixin from communist China.


24 posted on 01/14/2017 12:54:50 PM PST by deks
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To: Jack Black

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.

Get that damn rock out of my Mall.


25 posted on 01/14/2017 1:11:48 PM PST by Gator113 (I use liberal tears in my milkshake ~DRAIN THE SWAMP~ ~ LOCK HER UP ~ ~DRAIN THE SWAMP~)
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To: Jim Robinson

I agree with you.

First of all, it should be argued that this cross was merely a marker observing a historical fact.

That that fact happened to be that one of the first Western edifices in the region was religious in nature, should not matter.

Anti-Christian (and anti-U.S.) people should not be able to sanitize our history.

This is indeed a first amendment issue.

There’s no real church and state issue here.

This is a history and state issue.


26 posted on 01/14/2017 1:18:05 PM PST by DoughtyOne (John McStain. The friend of those who hate our nation.)
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To: Jim Robinson

Remove Santa from the city name too. They have already lost their souls.


27 posted on 01/14/2017 1:43:13 PM PST by keving (We get the government we vote)
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To: nickcarraway

“’We are happy that the city divested itself of this religious symbol, and that the constitution is now being complied with,’ said Rebecca Markert, attorney for Freedom From Religion Foundation.”

Leftists consistently say and do the exact opposite of what they insist they say and do.

This violates the Constitution - but the Profane Court betrayed the nation long ago to embrace this inverted illogic.

Freedom OF Religion, not Freedom FROM Religion.


28 posted on 01/14/2017 2:20:17 PM PST by YogicCowboy ("I am not entirely on anyone's side, because no one is entirely on mine." - JRRT)
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To: nickcarraway
Then to REALLY not prefer a certain religion; all TREES must be cut down as well.

Gaia must not violate the separation of church and state; either.

29 posted on 01/14/2017 3:02:15 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: onona

Sniffing only...


30 posted on 01/14/2017 3:04:04 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: keving

Sangre de Cristo

Corpus Christi


31 posted on 01/14/2017 3:06:36 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: nickcarraway

Rebecca dear, you and your clients really lost in the end.


32 posted on 01/14/2017 3:10:24 PM PST by b4me (If Jesus came to set us free, why are so many professed Believers still in chains?)
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To: nickcarraway

Only the Federal government was bound by the Establishment clause. States and local governments were legally free to established religion. The Constitution would not have been ratified if disestablishment were a prerequisite. It wasn’t until the misapplication of the 14th Amendment became prevalent that anyone would have even considered such an un-American idea.

Simply because, Antidisestablishment.


33 posted on 01/14/2017 3:28:31 PM PST by antidisestablishment ( We few, we happy few, we basket of deplorables)
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To: xzins

Yes and she was adorable


34 posted on 01/14/2017 4:20:32 PM PST by Patriot Babe
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To: Patriot Babe

Agreed.

Now that historic religion is a violation we must change city name of Saint Clara to something less “churchy & statey”.

I nominate Aunty Clara or Aunt Clara.


35 posted on 01/14/2017 4:24:42 PM PST by xzins (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.)
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To: captain_dave

The monstrosity was sculpted in China.


36 posted on 01/14/2017 6:24:23 PM PST by hal ogen (First Amendment or Reeducation Camp?.)
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To: Jack Black

If you think that is ugly and outsized, wait for the Bathhouse Barry statue. It won’t be long before the clamor begins.


37 posted on 01/14/2017 6:57:00 PM PST by Sgt_Schultze (If a border fence isn't effective, why is there a border fence around the White House?)
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To: Sgt_Schultze

38 posted on 01/14/2017 7:02:30 PM PST by RightGeek (FUBO and the donkey you rode in on)
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To: RightGeek

Haha! And with a Mo haircut.


39 posted on 01/14/2017 7:18:56 PM PST by Sgt_Schultze (If a border fence isn't effective, why is there a border fence around the White House?)
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To: nickcarraway
I am glad that other nations are not going in the toilet like America is:


40 posted on 01/15/2017 2:31:19 PM PST by jonrick46 (The Left has a mental illness: A totalitarian psyche.)
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