A Las Cruces, N.M., man told the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week that the three crosses in the city emblem are a violation of the U.S. Constitution and may make non-Christians feel excluded.
The city argued that the crosses are not a religious endorsement, but rather an acknowledgement of the city’s name — Spanish for “the crosses.”
The judges have not ruled in the case.
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said if the case were to be taken seriously it could lead to name changes for cities across the U.S.
"If images of crosses are an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, then 'religious' city names have to be equally unconstitutional," he said. "The logical outcome of the plaintiff's frivolous argument is that the town of Las Cruces and other cities like Corpus Christi, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco would all have to change their names."
