BAYVIEW CROSS CAN STAY

The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the cross at Pensacola’s Bayview Park cross can stay on city property and does not violate the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously ruled in a Maryland case that although crosses are a symbol of Christianity, the government does not necessarily have to remove one that has been in place for such a long time that it has also taken on a secular meaning and ordered a rehearing of the Pensacola cross case. The cross was first erected at Bayview Park in 1941. The American Humanist Association called the ruling a devastating blow to the Establishment Clause, and said they were exploring all options in the case.