GROUP WANTS CROSS REMOVED

A monument commemorating three priests that floated down the Mississippi River and landed at Cape Girardeau in 1699 has been targeted by a Wisconsin-based group that says the concrete cross violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of separation of church and state.

Freedom From Religion Foundation says the Cape La Croix Cross off North Kingshighway should be removed from the state right of way. The foundation said in a statement released this week that they were calling on the state to "remove a cross illegally placed on public property in Cape Girardeau, Mo., the 'land of Limbaugh,'" a reference to conservative radio and TV talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who hails from Cape Girardeau.

The cross was erected in 1947 with a plaque built into the base that reads: "In 1699, Fathers Montigny, Davion and St. Cosme, French Missionaries, erected a cross where this stream entered the Mississippi and prayed that this might be the beginning of Christianity among the Indians."

Annie Laurie Gaylor of Freedom From Religion Foundation, said the cross serves Christianity and has no place on public land.

"We're not asking to destroy it, just move it," Gaylor said. "There is no precedent for the government to allow a cross to be put on public land. It just doesn't belong on public property."

Gaylor said the group wrote the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department Nov. 28 about removing the cross from the state right of way. She said the department responded to the foundation in a Jan. 10 letter saying a legal review was being conducted.

"We thought it was time to do more than just 'review it,'" Gaylor said on releasing the statement. "We wanted some media attention for this."

Calls to the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department weren't returned Monday afternoon.

Gaylor said the foundation became aware of the cross after a member from the Cape Girardeau area contacted the group.

She refused to reveal the name of the foundation member. "There may be some backlash to this," she said.

Freedom From Religion Foundation has 3,300 members nationwide. The group, founded in 1978, also is known for efforts to remove the words, "In God We Trust," from U.S. currency.

"We're a group of atheists and agnostics," Gaylor said. "We want to promote a non-theistic way of life, but our primary focus is to keep church and state separate."

Gaylor said the group also is suing Colorado for having the Ten Commandments on a stone in the state Capitol. Other states also have the Ten Commandments in their Capitols.

"Jefferson City has that too," she said, "but we want to see how the suit in Colorado turns out before we pursue the others."

Gaylor predicted victory for the foundation if removing the cross became an issue for a court to decide.

"It's not winable for the state," she said. "It's just a waste of money to fight it."