ADF attorney to speak at Mt. Soledad rally Saturday
Rally will express support for continued fight to protect veterans memorial
Friday, Jan 14, 2011
WHO: ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco, ADF-allied attorney Charles S. LiMandriWHAT: Rally in support of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 15, 10 a.m. EST to 12 p.m. EST
WHERE: Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, 6905 La Jolla Scenic Dr. South, San Diego
SAN DIEGO — Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco and ADF-allied attorney Charles S. LiMandri will speak Saturday at a rally in support of protecting the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial. Other speakers include congressmen, local broadcasters, religious leaders, and veterans.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed a district court decision and declared the monument unconstitutional this month in a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Speakers at the event will express their support for the U.S. Department of Justice to appeal the 9th Circuit’s decision.
“War heroes have earned the right to be remembered,” Infranco said. “The memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom shouldn’t be dishonored because the ACLU claims several people were merely offended.”
“The 9th Circuit chose a twisted and tired interpretation of the First Amendment over the common-sense idea that the families of fallen American troops should be allowed to honor them as they choose,” he added. “No one is harmed, constitutionally or otherwise, by the presence of a cross on a war memorial, but there is great harm to tearing these memorials down. The memorial cross should stand in honor of the sacrifice made by our troops.”
ADF represented the American Legion Department of California in friend-of-the-court briefs filed with the 9th Circuit in the case, Trunk v. City of San Diego. ADF has been involved in defending the memorial since 2005. In that year, 76 percent of San Diego voters chose to preserve the cross by transferring the memorial from city property to the ownership of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which was enacted by Congress the next year.
ADF is actively involved in defending similar memorials under attack around the country. In American Atheists v. Davenport, ADF is filing a cert petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for review of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that declared roadside cross memorials to fallen Utah state troopers unconstitutional. In Salazar v. Buono, ADF represented the American Legion Department of California in a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed the 9th Circuit decision ordering the cross to be removed, and ruled that the lower courts should reconsider the land transfer of the veterans memorial cross in the Mojave Desert.
“The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm,” Justice Kennedy noted for the Supreme Court in the Salazar decision. “A cross by the side of a public highway marking, for instance, the place where a state trooper perished need not be taken as a statement of governmental support for sectarian beliefs. The Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion’s role in society.”
SAN DIEGO — Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco and ADF-allied attorney Charles S. LiMandri will speak Saturday at a rally in support of protecting the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial. Other speakers include congressmen, local broadcasters, religious leaders, and veterans.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed a district court decision and declared the monument unconstitutional this month in a case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Speakers at the event will express their support for the U.S. Department of Justice to appeal the 9th Circuit’s decision.
“War heroes have earned the right to be remembered,” Infranco said. “The memory of those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom shouldn’t be dishonored because the ACLU claims several people were merely offended.”
“The 9th Circuit chose a twisted and tired interpretation of the First Amendment over the common-sense idea that the families of fallen American troops should be allowed to honor them as they choose,” he added. “No one is harmed, constitutionally or otherwise, by the presence of a cross on a war memorial, but there is great harm to tearing these memorials down. The memorial cross should stand in honor of the sacrifice made by our troops.”
ADF represented the American Legion Department of California in friend-of-the-court briefs filed with the 9th Circuit in the case, Trunk v. City of San Diego. ADF has been involved in defending the memorial since 2005. In that year, 76 percent of San Diego voters chose to preserve the cross by transferring the memorial from city property to the ownership of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which was enacted by Congress the next year.
ADF is actively involved in defending similar memorials under attack around the country. In American Atheists v. Davenport, ADF is filing a cert petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for review of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit that declared roadside cross memorials to fallen Utah state troopers unconstitutional. In Salazar v. Buono, ADF represented the American Legion Department of California in a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed the 9th Circuit decision ordering the cross to be removed, and ruled that the lower courts should reconsider the land transfer of the veterans memorial cross in the Mojave Desert.
“The goal of avoiding governmental endorsement does not require eradication of all religious symbols in the public realm,” Justice Kennedy noted for the Supreme Court in the Salazar decision. “A cross by the side of a public highway marking, for instance, the place where a state trooper perished need not be taken as a statement of governmental support for sectarian beliefs. The Constitution does not oblige government to avoid any public acknowledgment of religion’s role in society.”
- Photo: Cross at Mt. Soledad Veterans’ Memorial
- Photo: Infranco at a 2006 press conference at the Mt. Soledad Memorial
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.