[StBernard] Law center: St. Bernard to proceed with memorial plans

[Westley Annis]

By CityBusiness staff report

2006-08-11 11:35 AM CST 

ST. BERNARD PARISH - The American Center for Law and Justice announced that
St. Bernard Parish will go ahead with its plans to build a memorial to
victims of Hurricane Katrina despite protests from the American Civil
Liberties Union. 
 
The ACLU criticized the plans for the memorial, which included a cross, as
unconstitutional. The ACLJ countered by defending the memorial on the
grounds of freedom of speech as protected in the First Amendment of the U.S.
constitution. According to a release from the ACLJ, the proposed memorial is
on private property in St. Bernard Parish. 
 
"The speech activities of private citizens responsible for funding,
planning, and building this memorial are fully protected by the First
Amendment, which forbids the government from prohibiting free exercise of
religion or abridging the freedom of speech," read a letter sent by the ACLJ
to St. Bernard Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez. 
  
The ACLJ also defended the construction of the Mount Soledad memorial in San
Diego, Calif., a war monument that contains a cross.