Even though the U.S. government desired that a San Diego landmark remain where it has stood for more than 50 years, city fathers in this sprawling Southern California city have determined they would rather see the Mt. Soledad cross dismantled and moved.
Litigation involving the Mt. Soledad site dates back to 1989 when a local atheist brought suit, saying the location of the cross offended him. Since that time, the saga involving the war memorial had progressed to the point where, in December 2004, three prominent area Congressmen – Duncan Hunter, "Duke" Cunningham, and Darrell Issa – persuaded the leadership in the U.S. House to attach an amendment to a bill that named the Mt. Soledad cross a national veterans memorial. President Bush signed the bill into law just before Christmas.
For the cross to stay, all the city had to do was donate the land to the National Park Service. But then San Diego's newly elected city attorney, Michael Aguirre, entered the picture.
Last month, Aguirre issued a memorandum to Mayor Dick Murphy and all City Council members detailing his reasons why the cross should be dismantled and removed from its present site in La Jolla, an affluent coastal suburb of San Diego.
Led by a motion offered by City Councilman Scott Peters (who represents the La Jolla area), the council voted by a 5-3 margin that the city should agree with Aguirre's opinion and proceed to dismantle the cross.
Despite a last-minute effort by Christians from four San Diego churches, the council relied on Aguirre's legal opinion. The actions on March 8 completely disregard the offer from the federal government. Further, the council vote likely means the Cross will be dismantled in the next 90 days.
