Highway crosses -- court rules against them

Memorial crosses on Texas highways have become a part of popular culture. It's a tradition for friends and loved ones of someone killed in a car accident to place a cross, sometimes adorned with flowers or even stuffed animals, on the roadside near the site of the fatal accident.

But a federal appeals court has ruled that 14 crosses installed on Utah highways as memorials to fallen law enforcement officers are unconstitutional. The court determined that the crosses were a government endorsement of a specific religion. Read more about that decision here.

The case could have implications for highway memorials across the U.S. Right now, officials at the Texas Department of Transportation say they're reviewing the matter, and aren't prepared to say whether the ruling could bring an end to roadside crosses in the Lone Star State.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, some cities have rules governing the size and shape of roadside memorials.

Have you ever placed a cross on the roadside? Should Texans be allowed to place memorials on highway right-of-way? Do crosses violate the separation of church and state? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Comments

[Dean DeTar]

WWhat has happened to the free exercise part 0f the first amendment.

Dean DeTar

[Fred Driscoll]

Yes, if the GOVERNMENT placed the memorials, that would be endorsement; but NOT if FAMILY and FRIENDS placed the memorial. I agree with cities setting limits on size, location, etc. to limit hazards to traffic, but the memorials also help drivers identify hazardous locations.

[TXatheist]

No, the placement of a cross doesn't make anyone safer. People die on the roads everyday, sad but true and there is nothing you can do because it boils down to statistics.

[Doug]

I think the memorials make other drivers give a thought to the dangers of the highway and that particular location when they see them. At least, it does with me. After I pass that spot a few more times, I then begin to think about that person and their family and what horrible time it must have been for them and the first responders involved. My very first reaction is to take them as a warning to my own safety, tho' and take note of the dangers involved there.

[linda]

If you pass one of these crosses it makes you think about all the lives changed at that one spot. There is not anything wrong with them if friends and family does this.