S.I. Congressman Wants WTC Steel Cross To Be National Monument
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Staten Island congressman has proposed legislation that would make the Sept. 11 cross-shaped steel beam a national monument.
Rep. Michael Grimm said he was pushing for protective status for the 20-foot steel cross that was found amid the ruins of the World Trade Center site.
"The focus and goal of my legislation will be to make the cross a national monument. Therefore, once and for all, putting an end to whether the cross should be part of 9/11, whether it shouldn't," Grimm told 1010 WINS.
The proposed legislation was in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Atheists, according to Grimm. The group argues that a "Christian icon" should not be included in the 9/11 memorial museum, slated to open next year.
Grimm called the group's opposition reprehensible and said the cross was "so much more than a symbol of Christianity."
"It is part of the story of what everyone went through during 9/11," he said.
The congressman from New York's 13th congressional district, said that the iron beams need to be memorialized because they "were a symbol of hope and comfort for so many enduring such a horrific time in our history."
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