PENSACOLA – A U.S. appeals court decided Feb. 19 that the City of Pensacola can keep its World War II cross in place on public property, based on a similar Supreme Court decision issued in 2019.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Florida’s 34-foot Latin cross does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The cross was built for the community in the city’s Bayview Park in 1941 at a time when the U.S. prepared to enter World War II. Pensacola citizens have since gathered around the cross for holiday and remembrance events throughout the year, becoming a staple within the community.
A three-judge panel found that the cross "has evolved into a neutral," rather than religious symbol, a slight change in how courts have viewed religious symbolism in the past. Previously, such symbols on public grounds were only deemed constitutional if they contained an assortment of religious symbols, representing multiple community religious views.
“I think the big change that’s taking place is that the Supreme Court a long time ago and then lower courts until recently were relying on something called the Lemon Test in cases involving religious symbols,” said Beck Law Attorney Luke Goodrich in an interview with the Florida Record. "And that was a highly subjective test that kind of asked open-ended questions about ‘What’s the government’s purpose for this display? Does this display seem to endorse religion? Does the display entangle government with religion?’”
A big difference in this case's ruling, according to Goodrich, was for the Supreme Court to reject the Lemon Test and ruled heavily on historical context.
“Pensacola is a city with a rich and diverse history,” said Pensacola Mayor Grover C. Robinson IV in a statement following the ruling. “The Bayview Cross is an important part of that history as a symbol of our community’s coming together during a national crisis. We are pleased by the court’s ruling in this case, and today we celebrate our long-awaited victory and the preservation of the Bayview Cross.”