The cross was meant to send a message about God's love—a sign of comfort. The cross was illuminated during Christmas and Easter. It was also lighted during the anniversary of the 9/11 Muslim terrorist attacks.

In 2016 an atheist group complained about the cross and the following year the city council disconnected electrical service to the hilltop.

"I think they just gave the city of Albany a black eye," Albany Lions Club president Kevin Pope told the Bay Area News Group. "There's a lot of people who love it being up there—a lot of people go up there and pray and have church services. It's sacred ground to us, and taking it down shows their intolerance toward Christian values."

According to the Bay Area News Group, critics say the cross "symbolizes a preference of one religion over others, offends some members of the city's diverse communities, is reminiscent of KKK cross-burnings in the East Bay hills in the 1920s, and is an eyesore."

And in 2023 the cross was torn down because a judge said it violated the US Constitution. That decision was celebrated by then-Mayor Aaron Tiedmann.

"The city has actually put its money where its mouth is, and our city looks a little bit more accepting now in a way that we think is consistent with our values," he told the East Bay Times in June. "For the small local group of people that really want to see the cross stay, when you've had such privilege for so long, losing it feels like being oppressed. That's going to be an adjustment for folks, but I think we will all get used to it, and I think it's a real benefit."

The former mayor actually admitted that hatred of Christians led to the removal of the cross. This is the sort of anti-Christian behavior I wrote about in my new book, "Twilight's Last Gleaming: Can America Be Saved?"... 

Pacific Justice Institute now represents the Lions Club and they plan to take this case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

"It is a vicious, blatant, anti-constitutional, discriminatory action by the City of Albany. And that's what makes this case so shocking. You know, the city didn't even hide it," one of the group's attorneys told Fox News.

It's too bad the Lions Club didn't erect a giant rainbow flag on that hilltop. There's no way the city council would've ordered that flag to be taken down. Meanwhile, city leaders had the cross dismantled and shoved into a closet. How ironic. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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