< < Go Back
Liberty Institute is pleased to announce the signing of an order this week that signals the “beginning of the end” of an 11-year battle with the ACLU over the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial, erected in 1934 in honor of World War I veterans. In 2010, in Salazar v. Buono, The Supreme Court ruled that the memorial cross, which stood atop Sunrise Rock in California’s Mojave Desert, is constitutional and should not be torn down. Not long after that ruling, the cross was stolen and has yet to be restored. In 2003, the U.S. Congress authorized the acre of land, on which the memorial stood, to be transferred to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in exchange for five acres of privately donated land elsewhere in the Mojave Desert preserve. In Salazar v. Buono, The Supreme Court sent the land transfer, which the ACLU had also challenged, back to the lower court to be resolved. This week’s order, signed by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Timlin, ends the ACLU’s lawsuit and paves the way for the land transfer to be completed. One final piece remains: Liberty Institute represents the VFW in its lawsuit against the federal government to ensure implementation of the land transfer so the cross can be restored. That lawsuit will conclude after the land transfer to the veterans is complete. Sadly, the attack upon our nation’s veterans memorials doesn’t stop with the Mojave victory. The ACLU and atheist groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation continue their campaign to remove religion from the public arena by attacking veterans memorials across the country including the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego, CA; the WWII Jesus Statue in Whitefish, Montana; and the WWI Memorial in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Critically, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering our appeal of the Ninth Circuit’s decision declaring the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Cross unconstitutional. You can show your support of America’s veterans by joining Liberty Institute’s campaign to protect their memorials. Visit DontTearMeDown.com http://www.2dialog.com/libertyinstitute/t/l/15982/h/b5176 to sign our petition, share this story with family and friends, and download the Don’t Tear Me Down song (also available on iTunes/Android).