The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Salazar v. Buono, a case that will determine the fate of the 75-year-old Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial, a seven-foot metal cross erected in 1934 by World War I veterans to honor their fallen brethren.

As chronicled in the June 11 issue of this newsletter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued in 2001 to have the memorial taken down.

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank observed that outside the Supreme Court, the Rev. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council preached, "We pray that those who laid down their lives will be properly memorialized with a cross so tenderly placed in the lonely desert."

Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel of Liberty Legal Institute, which filed an amici curiae brief on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the American Ex-Prisoners of War, along with Ted Cruz, a former Solicitor General of Texas, wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal defending the cross:

"Far more is at stake than a single memorial. If the Supreme Court allows this cross to be destroyed, it could presage the destruction of thousands of similar memorials nationwide, inflicting sorrow on millions of Americans, especially veterans and their families.

"The theory being advanced by the ACLU is that no religious symbol can be allowed on public land. That is a radical notion that is contrary to the text of the Constitution, to the original understanding of the Framers, and to how the Supreme Court has long interpreted the First Amendment's prohibition on the establishment of a religion."

Shackelford and Cruz noted the case will affect every national cemetery.

"At Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C., the Argonne Cross was erected to honor our fallen World War I soldiers. If you stand at the foot of that memorial, you cannot help but be moved by the sacrifices so many brave souls have made for our nation," they wrote.

Jay Sekulow, chief cousel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), also filed an amici curiae brief on behalf of House Minority Leader John Boehner and Representatives Todd Akin, Michele Bachmann, Roy Blunt, Eric Cantor, Randy Forbes, Scott Garrett, Walter Jones, Jim Jordan, Doug Lamborn, Thaddeus McCotter, Jeff Miller, Mike Pence, Joseph Pitts, and Joe Wilson.

"This case is a perfect example of a troubling phenomenon that's plagued the federal court system for years-ideologically motivated citizens and public interest groups search out Establishment Clause violations-often in the form of a passive religious symbol or display of some sort-and turn it into a federal case because they are offended.  The Court has an important opportunity to end this pattern by concluding that simply being ‘offended' is not enough to create a constitutional showdown," Sekulow said.

The Associated Press reported that, in addition to atheist groups, Jewish and Muslim veterans organizations object to the memorial.

The Supreme Court will probably render a decision in the spring of 2010.