Peace Cross 1. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment On June 20, 2019, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case of The American Legion vs. American Humanist Association that keeping a Peace Cross on public land does not violate the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution. The Peace Cross is a monument built by The American Legion in honor of the 49 servicemen that died overseas in World War I, and is located in the city of Bladensburg, Maryland (8.6 miles from central Washington, DC). The cross was originally built on private lands with private funds, but the lands were turned over to the state of Maryland in 1961. The maintenance costs are also made out of public funds. The First Amendment reads as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Previously, in October 2017, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the American Humanist Association. The association, representing the interests of a group […]
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