AMERICAN ATHEISTS, INC.
http://www.atheists.org
http://www.americanatheist.org

For more information, please contact:
Ellen Johnson, President (908) 276-7300
Dave Silverman, Communications Director (732) 648-9333

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 6, 2006


         SUPREME COURT STAY ON REMOVAL OF CROSS -- SPECIAL
                TREATMENT WHEN RELIGION INVOLVED?


An Atheist civil rights group today expressed concern over a move by the
US Supreme Court to stay a lower court order that would have removed an
enormous Christian cross from a public park in San Diego, CA.

In May, a federal judge ordered the city to take down the 43-foot-high
Christian monument by August 1 or face fines of $5,000 per day.  Atheist
Phil Paulson has contested the legality of the cross since 1987,
charging that its presence on public land violated the state
constitution.  Officials and supporters of the cross, however, have
resorted to a number of legal ruses and even rejected proposals to
relocate the cross to private property.

American Atheists President Ellen Johnson said that the only reason she
knew of for the last-minute Supreme Court intervention was that religion
was involved.

"The high court rarely even enters a stay of execution for death row
inmates," Johnson said.  "This case is all about blatant government
endorsement of religion."

"Supporters and the City have disingenuously claimed that the Mt.
Soledad cross has nothing to do with religion and is instead a 'war
memorial,' " added Johnson, who appeared Tuesday on MSNBC.  "For
decades, this structure has been known as the 'Mt. Soledad Easter
Cross,' and it has been the focus of Easter sunrise services and other
religious events."

"If we want to have an appropriate memorial that salutes those who have
served their country and paid the ultimate price, it should be a secular
monument that honors all veterans and the ideals they fought to defend."

Dave Silverman, Communications for American Atheists, said the best way
to resolve the impasse over the Mt. Soledad cross "would be for
officials to simply do the right thing, comply with court orders, and
take the Christian cross down."

AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for
Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and
addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.

American Atheists, Inc.
P. O. Box 5733
Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733
Tel.: (908) 276-7300
Fax: (908) 276-7402