Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/17-1717_4f14.pdf
Page Number: 38

Cite as:  588 U. S. ____ (2019) 

31 

Opinion of the Court 

IV 
  The  cross  is  undoubtedly  a  Christian  symbol,  but  that 
fact  should  not  blind  us  to  everything  else  that  the 
Bladensburg Cross has come to represent.  For some, that 
monument  is  a  symbolic  resting  place  for  ancestors  who 
never  returned  home.    For  others,  it  is  a  place  for  the 
community  to  gather  and  honor  all  veterans  and  their 
sacrifices for our Nation.  For others still, it is a historical 
landmark.  For many of these people, destroying or defac-
ing  the  Cross  that  has  stood  undisturbed  for  nearly  a 
century  would  not  be  neutral  and  would  not  further  the 
ideals  of  respect  and  tolerance  embodied  in  the  First 
Amendment.    For  all  these  reasons,  the  Cross  does  not 
offend the Constitution. 

* 

  * 

  * 

  We  reverse  the  judgment  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  for  
the  Fourth  Circuit  and  remand  the  cases  for  further  
proceedings. 

It is so ordered.