Cross Has San Diego at a Crossroads

SAN DIEGO - For 16 years, San Diego has been in a battle over whether a massive cross that overlooks the city from Mount Soledad should stay where it is or be removed.

"These 10 Commandment displays or crosses on public property - insignias and logos that have literally been there for decades - are truly reflective of an important part of our religious and cultural heritage," said Charles LiMandri of the Thomas More Law Center.

In November, San Diego voters rejected a ballot measure, Proposition K, which would have authorized the sale of the land on which the monument stands in an effort to correct violations of the state constitution that prohibit the display of religious symbols on state land.

In May, San Diego's City Council agreed to allow a measure called Proposition A on a July special election mayoral ballot after a massive signature-gathering effort organized by a group called San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National War Memorial.

Proposition A proposes a handover of the land to the U.S. Interior Department, thereby making it federal land. Federal laws are not as restrictive as California state code.