A meaningful and historic object is safe once more. After an attempt of the American Atheist organization to remove the “9/11 Memorial Cross” on grounds that it violated the separation of church and state, the appeals court affirmed a lower court decision to toss out a lawsuit against the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Note: They also would have settled for an Atheist plaque at the memorial to balance things out.

The appellate court stated in a unanimous decision that the cross is historic as much as it is religious:

“As a matter of law, the record compels the conclusion that appellees’ actual purpose in displaying The Cross at Ground Zero has always been secular: to recount the history of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath.” —Circuit Judge Reena Raggi

And this:

“Thus, the Establishment Clause is not properly construed to command that government accounts of history be devoid of religious references. Nor is a permissible secular purpose transformed into an impermissible religious one because the government makes an historical point with an artifact whose historical significance derives, in whole or in part, from its religious symbolism.” —General Court Ruling Documentation

American Atheists – time to go back to the drawing board trying to censor people’s religious expression.