Atheist, national group sue city over Christian cross at park

Lawsuit alleges ‘ blatant religious symbol’ violates First Amendment, state law

SANTA CLARA — A local atheist and a national group that advocates for the strict separation of church and state have sued the city to remove a large white Christian cross at a public park where an 18th century Spanish Catholic mission once stood.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the 9th U.S. District Court, resident Andrew Defaria and the Freedom From Religion Foundation argue that the 14foot granite cross is a “blatant religious symbol” that violates the First Amendment of the Constitution and California law.

“As a lifelong atheist and member of FFRF, and also a member of the San Jose Atheists, I believe firmly in the separation of church and state,” Defaria wrote Thursday in an email to this newspaper.

The cross stands at Memorial Cross Park, a half-acre plot of grass and Spanish colonial landscaping, at the busy intersection of Martin Avenue and De La Cruz Boulevard. A local Lions Club donated the cross in 1953 to mark the site of Santa Clara’s second Franciscan mission, which stood there from 1777 to 1784.

Santa Clara Lions Club president Ginger Stasi, who was not a member when the cross was donated, said the cross is a “historic marker” and should stay.

“No one is being forced on their knees to pray there,” she said. “Honestly, there are so many other problems in the world that need fixing.”

Based in Wisconsin, Freedom From Religion said it first complained about the cross to Santa Clara officials in 2012. Copresident Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement that the group was led to believe officials in the so- called “Mission City” would remove the marker.

“It should not be necessary to sue over such an obvious and blatant establishment of religion,” Gaylor said. “We waited four years for the city to act in good faith.”

The lawsuit names the city, Mayor Lisa Gillmor and council members as defendants. Gillmor said Thursday that she hadn’t heard about the lawsuit and doubted that anyone else at City Hall had either.

“We will take it seriously,” the mayor said. “We’ll address it and respond as soon as we can.”

KARLMONDON/STAFF Andrew Defaria, a Santa Clara atheist, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation are suing the city of Santa Clara to force the removal of this large granite cross erected in 1953 on the grounds of a public park.