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  • 2016-12-09 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Liberals Demand an 'Offensive' WWI Memorial Be Torn Down? (en)
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  • On 7 December 2016 , a meme appeared on social media that claimed an unnamed liberal group sought to tear down a 90-year-old World War I memorial, because they found it offensive: The post contained no information or citation, did not name the liberal group involved, the location of the memorial, the date of the purported controversy, and the grounds by which these individuals believed the monument to be offensive. (Nevertheless, the item's share count reached six digits in just two days.) The image was easily identifiable as the Bladensburg, Maryland Peace Cross (known simply as the Bladensburg Cross): A 7 December 2016 Washington Post article reported that years-long litigation over the cross was brought by the American Humanist Association due to the religious nature of the public memorial: The original complaint [PDF] was filed in February 2015 against the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. In the suit's opening lines, the plaintiffs explained the action was not because they found the symbol itself offensive: Under Causes of Action, the group reiterated its motivation in bringing the suit: The American Humanist Association said repeatedly that the litigation was about what the group argued was a violation of the Establishment Clause, not a matter of offense. A 26 February 2014 article in The Humanist further explained the suit: On 30 November 2015, the Baltimore Sun reported that a federal court in Maryland ruled the Bladensburg cross was constitutional, a decision that prompted the December 2016 appeal: Social media users were riled once again about the controversy after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling, prompting a Fox News opinion column by Todd Starnes on 18 October 2017: Starnes did not mention that the American Humanist Association's [urged] the government to erect an inclusive monument that will honor all fallen soldiers, regardless of their faith or that the cross was on public land. The Baltimore Sun reported: (en)
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