A legal battle that started in 1989 will culminate next Monday when President Bush is anticipated to sign into law H.R. 5683, Duncan Hunter’s Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Protection Act, which transfers possession of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in San Diego to the federal government.
This will effectively save the cross atop Mt. Soledad, under attack for nearly two decades by those who claim they can’t drive by without getting hives or worse. Get some antibiotics or Absorbine Jr. folks, the POTUS will be signing this bill.
Several individuals have played roles over the years in this local drama, now shifted to the feds. Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr., who has consistently sided with groups like the ACLU, Society for the Separation of Church and State, and the American Atheists in ruling the cross unconstitutional.
On the other side, the side of right, Phil Thalheimer and San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad National War Memorial, the Thomas More Law Center, talk radio hosts Roger Hedgecock, Rick Roberts and Mark Larson, and many others comprising a list too long for this venue, including thousands of everyday folks who gave their time, energy and money to fight the good fight.
Our local Congressional delegation — Hunter, Darrell Issa, Brian Bilbray — deserve much credit as well. I expect they will all be at the bill signing ceremony on Monday with President Bush.
Not slated to be at the ceremony, but also not the least of any of these, is Charles LiMandri, the attorney who has been a bulldog every step of the way in the battle to preserve Soledad. We can point to many folks who have been instrumental in the process, but it is safe to say that we may not even have federal legislation if it hadn’t been for "Chuck" approaching Duncan Hunter in late 2004 about a possible last ditch effort to make Mt. Soledad a federally-designated war memorial.
As of yesterday, the report was that only members of Congress would be involved in the signing ceremony. I know my whining about Chuck’s absence may only result in explanations back about arrangements, and security clearances, and details, yadda, yadda. Yeah, I know, we have a bureaucracy…the significant arrangements for a bill signing with the Pres. must be a nightmare.
If anyone can make this happen, it’s the chairman of House Armed Services. And, Chuck LiMandri deserves to be there when the Mt. Soledad Memorial is saved.
August 8th, 2006 at 12:00 am
Barry:
Agreed.
And Ditto for talk host Roger Hedgecock who was the public Information
Central on the Issue for at least a Decade. He held their feet to the fire!