San Diego Votes to Appeal Cross Removal

Christian leaders from Washington flew to San Diego to establish a legal defense fund for the Mount Soledad Cross as the city council voted to appeal a judge’s ruling to remove it.

Christian leaders from Washington flew to San Diego, Calif., Wednesday to establish a legal defense fund for the Mount Soledad Cross as the city council voted to appeal a judge’s ruling to remove the famed Korean War monument.

The Rev. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council and the Rev. Patrick Mahoney from the Christian Defense Coalition will be meeting with leaders throughout the state to enlist support for the city council decision and to establish a “Mount Soledad Cross legal defense fund.”

According to Schenck, the clergy members will visit San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders to talk about how the funds would be best used.

The visit comes one day after the city council voted 5-3 to direct city attorney Mike Aguirre’s office to appeal an early May decision by a federal judge to remove the cross within 90 days or face a $5,000 per day fine.

Since the ruling, Mayor Sanders has pledged to fight for the cross and contended the fight is not about a Christian symbol. Like most of the monument’s supporters, Sanders called the cross a war memorial that is part of the city’s history.

The cross was originally erected in 1954 as a memorial to veterans of the Korean War. The battle to take down the cross began 17 years ago by an atheist Philip Paulson, who argued that the monument crosses the constitutional church-state separation barrier.

Meanwhile, according to LA Times, Aguirre is suggesting a “creative solution” to the debate.

"What about if we were to take down the cross, put the property up with no restrictions to the highest bidder, and then a private party were to purchase it, and then whatever they decided, it being private property," Aguirre said, adding that the city’s appeal has a remote chance of success.

However, Christian leaders want the cross to be recognized for its historic significance publicly, and are calling on churches throughout California and the U.S. to help the city cover the costs of a legal appeal.