City of Albany and local Lions Club face off over 28-foot cross

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A legal battle over religious freedom continued Tuesday as the East Bay city of Albany and its local Lions Clubs faced off about a 28-foot cross.

A legal battle over religious freedom continued Tuesday as the East Bay city of Albany and its local Lions Club faced off about a 28-foot cross.

The trial began at the Hayward Hall of Justice. The Lions Club is appealing to the court to have its cross statue returned to its previous home at the top of Albany Hill Park.

The Lions Club erected the cross back in 1971 when the land was privately owned.  The original landowner, who was a member of the Lions Club, gave the organization an easement to use the land to display the cross. An easement is a right to use someone else’s land for a specific purpose.

The city acquired the land around the cross from a developer in 1973.

A federal judge ruled that the cross, which sits on city property, violates the First Amendment by favoring one religion over another.

Non-Christian community members also complained about the cross, calling the monument exclusionary.

The city responded by removing the cross in June.

People who support putting the cross back say that easement was included when the city acquired the land, which means the city broke the law by removing it.

The judge will decide whether the city was allowed to take the cross down and if the Lions club is entitled to a settlement for its removal.

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