A cross in San Diego has been under debate for the past two decades because it sits on federal land at a Korean War veterans memorial. Thursday, the cross was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge for violating the First Amendment's separation of church and state and the establishment clause, which bans the preference of one religion over another.

Since 1989, the cross has been the subjected of litigation, when two veterans sued. In response to the threat of it being taken down under a court order, the land the cross sits on was transferred from the city of San Diego to the federal government in 2005. The cross was challenged again in 2006 under a new lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union who represented the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America and several members of the neighborhood.

"It is unfortunate that the Ninth Circuit left the judge no choice but to order the tearing down of the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Cross," Bruce Bailey, president of the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association, told Fox News on Thursday. "However, we are grateful for the judge's stay that gives us an opportunity to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court."