4th Circuit upholds removal of Peace Cross
In an 8-6 vote, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals voted to uphold the lower courts’ decisions for the removal of the Peace Cross in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Originally, the cross was bought with private funds and placed on private land, but the State took possession of it as urban Maryland expanded. From SFGate;
Supporters of the Peace Cross, who say it is a secular tribute to local men killed in World War I, vowed to appeal.
“We cannot allow it to be the final word,” said Hiram Sasser, deputy chief counsel for First Liberty, a religious-freedom organization representing the American Legion. “If this decision stands, other memorials — including those in nearby Arlington Cemetery — will be targeted for destruction as well.”
Adrian Gardner, general counsel for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, said in a statement that the state agency would “keep open our option to seek review” by the Supreme Court.
The cross was built in 1925 with money from local families and the American Legion. A plaque lists the names of 49 Prince George’s County veterans and includes the words “valor,” “endurance,” “courage” and “devotion.” The park and planning commission took control of the land in 1961 because of its location at the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Maryland Route 450 in Bladensburg. The state agency pays for upkeep and repairs.
The suit was originally brought by Steven Lowe, a commuter who was “shocked” by the memorial on his way to work one day when his route took him past the intersection.
The cross has stood for nearly a hundred years and one little snowflake who is obviously easily “shocked” by the sight of the cross, to use his word, then the rest of us are supposed to pay in order to alter his experience, because it’s too hard for him to avoid driving past the cross.
Category: Dumbass Bullshit
It was built on private land. The property came under government ownership decades later. The government didn’t build it, it just maintains what was already there. What’s the problem?
Progtard pussies, apparently.
We had a similar issue in Maryland a few years back when a local government suggested turning a playground into a parking garage. Under the terms of the donation of land (over 100 years ago), it would revert to the original owner if not used as a playground.
Check the conditions of giving. The property might revert back to private.
Fuck Steven Lowe… that is all
^ plus 1000
As an agnostic, I am shocked by Steven Lowe. He needs to be removed now.
This is what happens when the legal system has reasonable intentions, but things are run off the rails by people who game the system. The Peace Cross is almost 100 years old, and currently on the National Register of Historic Places.
When the state took control of the land to build the road intersection, it’s very doubtful the location was chosen with the intent to cause the destruction of the Peace Cross. Actually, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the road layout was done in a way to take advantage of the Peace Cross as an available local feature.
It seems to me a common-sense solution to the issue of the cross is for Maryland to declare the immediate ground it sits on as surplus property. Rights to such property could be conveyed to a private group operating under a perpetual trust who would then be responsible for maintenance. According to the map, the road setback for the cross is tight, but not unreasonable.
In the interest of fair secular representation and balance, I would also propose that the State of Maryland install on the other side of the Bladensburg Road intersection a large sculpture to be named The Steven Lowe Memorial. It could be in the shape of a giant horse’s ass.
I was actually thinking a little tiny dick.
Perry,youre being to nice.i was thinking a big dick
I’d suggest a mangina…with sand in it, of course..
A flaccid dick.
Lowe is a professional victim, one of the perpetually offended. I wonder when the time will come when muslim artifacts are found offensive. Will the professional victims complain then? I’m thinking not so much. Geez, people, take a damn pill or something. Does he know how immature and petty this makes him appear to be?
Was thinking the same about the Muslim issue. I guess a big ass crescent moon and star would be A-OK with little Stevie.
Even if it wasn’t ok with little Stevie…what would he do? These types of snowflakes would get massacred by the adherents of the “Religion of Peace”. That’s why you never saw them lodge complaints when Dearborn was using public loudspeakers to broadcast the call to prayer.
Aren’t those shapes marshmallows in Lucky Charms cereal and supposedly magically delicious?
Why aren’t Muslims denouncing the leprechaun as performing witchcraft?
I’ll bet he would like to see a Lowe’s there.
I can not imagine living my life waiting to be offended by something every day in order to gain attention. What an empty existence.
and fuck this asshole. He should pick his vagina off the ground and get on with life
PG County, one of the triumvirate of counties that run the PDRofMD. An odd collection of DC bedroom gated communities and Section 8 housing, heavily Democrat and rife with crime. Mr. Lowe is a perfect example of a PG County denizen.
“If this decision stands, other memorials — including those in nearby Arlington Cemetery — will be targeted for destruction as well.” Maybe, maybe not. Those who applauded the tearing down of statutes to honored members of the Confederate States of America, the confederate battle flag, and the renaming of school teams cannot complain about this. They were offensive. The cross offended Lowe. That’s the way the concrete crumbles. I am well aware there are different bases for the removal of the statues and the cross. No matter. Butt hurt is butt hurt.
They won’t be offended 2/17, by and large, they’re the same bunch..
how where the csa memorials offensive.
From the National Register of Historic Places FAQ:
What are the restrictions, rules, regulations for historic property owners?
Under Federal Law, the listing of a property in the National Register places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do with their property up to and including destruction, unless the property is involved in a project that receives Federal assistance, usually funding or licensing/permitting.
—–
So if federal monies are used as part of the maintenance, then it cannot be destroyed? Every state is heavily reliant on federal funds for state highway maintenance.
Erected in 1925, the cross honors 49 Prince George’s County residents who died in World War I.
The original property was owned by the American Legion and the cross was erected with private funds & donations.
Back in 1961 the property with the cross included, was taken by imminent domain and given to the state to for road construction.
I’m wondering a couple of things.
First, what is the wordage in the documents in 1961 concerning if the cross wasn’t maintained properly by the state, would it revert back to the original owners?
Second, could that piece of property be transfered back to the American Legion?
Thirdly, why after 92 years does some group have a problem with it?
Fourth, what the phuck is wrong with people like these from the Freedom From Religion Foundation & the American Humanist Association?
Some people are simply intolerant a**holes who want to force everyone to do things their way, Skyjumper.
Just chisel the arms off the cross, put a pyramid on top and call it an obelisk. But then the Freedom from Religion Foundation would argue it was gov’t endorsement of the religion of Ancient Egypt. Those assholes are undoubtedly funding this litigation. The plaintiff, Lowe, is just their stooge.
Hondo, I’m not a fan at all things that government does.
In this case I just shake my head at how this piece of property with memorial cross was original taken by imminent domain by the government to build a road intersection for the “good of the people” and than 57 years later one of these godless groups demand this memorial cross be taken down for the “good of the people”.
Point of clarification, which changes nothing. The 4th circuit decided the merits of the case months ago and the vote was 2-1. As is permitted under certain circumstances, the 4th circuit was then asked to review the 2-1 decision en banc. If the majority of all of the 4th circuit’s judges granted the request, they all would have considered the case. Unfortunately, the vote was 8-6 against taking it on, so the earlier (2-1) decision stands. When it comes to matters such as these, if something is clearly unconstitutional or clearly constitutional, it’s nice to see a unanimous decision. When we get one, little doubt about the issue exists, as a rule. Here, with only two lawyers deciding the matter earlier and six of 14 wanting to entertain the case en banc, we have are left with much doubt as to the wisdom of the ruling. Football bats.
I want to understand this business properly, so:
– The monument is a memorial, not a grave marker, therefore, removing it to another place does not require moving a grave.
– No one has forced Steve Lowe to take that route to work, but apparently he did so once and was offended by a memorial to dead soldiers because of its shape.
– The spot where the monument is located is a traffic zone with a lot of traffic.
– The memorial was on private property that was confiscated by the state of Maryland for traffic improvement.
– Steve Lowe is a perpetually offended twit.
Well, that settles it. Move the memorial to some place that is private land, or a national cemetery like Arlington, which is full of crosses and Mogen Davids and tell Lowe to go pound sand up his anal orifice.
In its place, put up a large sign that says “Steve Lowe is the selfish pig that wanted the WWI memorial removed.”
People can let him know what they think of him by heaping public scorn on his head.
Just move the monument to a place where it’s less likely to be run over by a snow plow.
The irony of this is that Lowe has made a point of nothing, other than his incredible self-centeredness. He is not a voice crying out in the wilderness. He’s just a stupid jerk with a hair up his backside who expects everyone to knuckle under to his demands. It appears that he’s forgotten that part about freedom OF religion.
At the same time, I would bet that most commuters who pass that monument couldn’t tell you the first thing about it.
Ex, the Peace Cross is 40 feet tall. It’s also made of concrete likely reinforced with steel re-bar, which means it could weigh ~60-80 tons, according to my own back-of-envelope math. Moving it might be possible, but the process could also destroy it, and would be very expensive.
We might also want to keep our eyes on the ball. The monument was put up to honor those 49 WWI veterans from Prince George’s County. Moving things to Arlington sort of misses the original point of a local tribute. Not that such a thing would matter to Steven Lowe. He apparently has no problem flipping the finger at those who died defending his right to be a reptile.
Nothing is impossible, but thinking makes it so.
The Space Shuttle is heavier, as are Atlas rockets.
If an antique house weighing many, many more tons than this concrete memorial and far more fragile can be moved with little to no damage, then this large casting can likewise be moved.
Of course, if the cost is prohibitively expensive, it might have to stay there in situ until the money could be coughed up to move it and by that time, Lowe could become a laughing stock.
And then there is always the countersuit, which someone should throw at Lowe and his soul mate Mikey Whinestain, or whatever his name is.
The real problem is that the plot of land it sits on is not private land any more. It belongs to the county/city, but the memorial is a privately-owned piece of concrete art. So Lowe can object to it all he likes but he can’t damage the thing without penalty, and he can demand that it be removed but if the cost is, as I said, prohibitive, he may croak before that happens.
Another gross injustice. The country can only take so much.
I think the town/ city could easily donate a land plot that includes the cross to the local American Legion.
Mr. Lowe is a fucking clown-loser of the utmost Phildoesque Order.
I doubt Jesus really cares if a cross was removed by a secular government.
Whether or not you meant to make the point, you did. The cross is a memorial to the Fallen, not a rallying point for Christians.
Amen Cav. That point was lost on little Stevie.
Cell Tower. They put the antennas on anything nowadays so call it a cell tower and generate some revenue. For the children. And the earth.
So, because some ass clown is “offended”, they’re looking at having to take down a monument (that has been standing there for almost 100 years) that is in honor of the memory of some fine boys who lost their lives in “The Great War”.
That ass hat would be just as welcome to go and piss on the graves of every man that cross memorializes.
If I had it in my power, I would raise an army of the dead, and have them march on the court house where this decision was made, and have them stand there as the highest ranking among them asks why it is that the country they died for is so willing to now forget them.
It was private land once before, right?
Privatize it.
Sell it to some organization that will maintain it. It is now clearly under the “strict scrutiny” test of First Amendment law. Raise fingers in salute to the peckerheads.
Watch heads explode.
The effort to extinguish Christianity (for that is what it is) to will eventually target Arlington, and other such places.
And they -will-, for they -must-.
It is exactly this kind of retroactive, convoluted use-anything to further an agenda BS that makes me oppose any new gun law. “We didn’t mean for THAT to happen” seems to happen al to frequently. As an example, Civil Asset Forfeiture, which was proposed to punish convicted drug pushers and is used to steal from innocents. Too much is twisted out of context by too many.
Meh. Quick buttstroke will suffice for Mr Lowe. If he objects, teach him again.
I wonder if Mrs. Lowe would be shocked if I punched him in the throat and my son kicked him square in her tiny testicles.
[…] liberal atheist, the local government in Prince George’s County, will be removing a memorial cross for veterans of the first World War from a once-private gravesite. A decision in the 4th Circuit […]
So why should that shitcicle be offended by my “imaginary friend?” If god doesn’t exist, then it’s just a concrete shape. It’s not preventing non-believers from using the road or asking a toll from non-Christians.
Second, Why doesn’t someone set up a GoFuckYou account and we can buy the land and like a 6 foot perimeter around it from the government and it will be private?
And C.) I like the suggestion by 26Limabeans of placing cell tower antennas on it like the disguise ones as pine trees then rent out the repeaters to the carriers which in turn pays for what little maintenance is needed… and the 1000 amp electric fence surrounding the cross.