Will Utah roadside crosses come down?

March 10, 2:54 PMAtheism ExaminerTrina Hoaks

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Yesterday an appellate court heard the case of the 14 12-foot crosses that are in place along state highways in Utah honoring fallen Utah state troopers. The American Atheists says that the crosses are religious in nature and because they bear the Utah Highway Patrol emblem it seems that Utah is promoting Christianity.

Back in 2007, a judge "ruled that the crosses were not illegal because they convey a secular message not a religious one." American Atheists disagreed with this and appealed the ruling.

Although it is not clear when the three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will make their final ruling in yesterday's hearing, it is thought that they may eventually render a favorable verdict.

During the hearing, Judge David M. Ebel, in response to the previous declaration of a Utah court that the crosses are of a secular nature, said that just because they say it doesn't make it so. He said, "Declaring something a purse doesn't make it a purse."

Judge Harris Hartz asked Utah Assistant Attorney General Thom Roberts, who defended the use of the crosses, to "[g]ive [him] an example that it's a secular symbol of death... [and to show him] a non-Christian that uses a cross to symbolize death."

The panel also expressed concern over the fact that if the family of a fallen Jewish trooper, for example, requested a Star of David memorial, they wouldn't get it in lieu of a cross memorial. Judge Ebel said:

If it was a Jewish or a Muslim trooper, that person wouldn't get it. That's where I have a problem.