While that ruling was not a surprise, what was written into the ruling is a major defeat for the Anti-Christians out there..
Looks like the ACLU and the rest of the Christian Haters are going to be in for a rough time...
Expect this ruling to be referred to in future cases the Left brings.
They weren't asking for it to be taken down. They were requesting a plaque to be placed in the "Finding Meaning Exhibit" and a plaque would not be an artifact and atheists don't have a symbol to draw from in any of those artifacts. The case says that this particular cross is a part of the telling of the events after 9/11 both in it's discovery and afterwards. The court held that it failed the Lemon test.
I doubt very seriously that this is going to be used all that often. One would freaking hope not to have a repeat of that type of situation.
http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisio...c2371c6-ddc1-4f29-aec9-a8f807a6f0a7/1/hilite/
Actually, I heard this morning that they DID want it removed. Apparently, some testimonies included people saying that the site of the cross, itself, made them ill.
Not sure what the truth is.
Ultimately yes. Getting it removed was their real goal.