Atheists Seek Removal of Cross After Losing Case Against WWI Memorial

An atheist group is continuing its opposition to a World War I memorial shaped like a cross. The group had already lost a case in which they demanded the memorial in Prince George's County, Maryland be torn down, according to a report by WorldNetDaily.

A judge ruled against the American Humanist Association in November 2015, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Center for Inquiry jointly filed a brief in support of the American Humanist Association, said a report in Opposing Views. "It is without a doubt a religious symbol that cannot survive constitutional scrutiny," the Foundation said on its website.

A brief by the Liberty Institute opposed that filing. The brief said that destroying the memorial would "exhibit a hostility toward religion that has no place in our Establishment Clause tradition."

The American Legion is defending the Bladensburg World War I Veterans Memorial.
"The Veterans Memorial has stood in honor of the fallen for almost 100 years," said the Legion's lead counsel, Noel Francisco, "and should be allowed to stand for 100 years more."

The site contains a plaque that lists the names of 49 men from Prince George's County who died in World War I and was sponsored by the mother of a soldier who died in World War I.

The judge in the case said that the cross was a memorial that represented crosses on unmarked graves of U.S. soldiers in foreign cemeteries, and was "not out of religious motivation."

The American Human Association is "facing an uphill battle" in its appeal, said Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of First Liberty Institute. He said the group is attacking the site "simply because it is in the shape of a cross."

"That is sad and that is not the law," said Shackelford.

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