US Supreme Court says huge concrete cross can stay on public land; rejects claim that its presence is an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a huge concrete cross can stay on public land in suburban Washington, D.C., rejecting a claim that its presence is an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
The decision was a victory for defenders of the Peace Cross, a 40-foot-tall structure that has stood for more than 90 years in Bladensburg, Maryland. It was built with private funds to honor 49 servicemen from the region who died in World War I. A state parks commission took it over in 1961 to provide for its maintenance, and it now sits in the middle of a busy traffic interchange.
The Trump administration urged the court to let the cross remain. In a friend-of-the-court brief, the Justice Department said the Constitution's ban on an establishment of religion does not prohibit the acknowledgment of religion in public life.
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