ACLJ Says WW 2 Memorial Opening Is A 1st Amendment Victory

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a constitutional law firm based in Washington, D.C., said today the National Park Service decision to re-open the World War II Memorial in Washington “for First Amendment activities”. According to the firm, this is a significant constitutional victory for those who were barred from visiting this open-air Memorial during the government shutdown. The decision comes just days after the ACLJ threatened to take the federal government to court if the constitutional rights of Americans continued to be violated.

“The decision to barricade the WWII Memorial – to keep individuals and veterans out – not only violated the First Amendment rights of Americans, it underscored the absurdity of the Obama Administration’s decision to pick winners and losers in this government shutdown,” said Jay Sekulow, Executive Director of the ACLJ.

On Monday, the ACLJ sent a Demand Letter to the National Park Service outlining the numerous constitutional violations posed by shutting down the open-air memorial. The ACLJ letter, posted here, put the National Park Service on notice that a federal lawsuit would be filed and demanded “that the NPS desist immediately from barring access to the World War II Memorial for all persons seeking to visit the Memorial.”

In less than a week, the ACLJ heard from more than 65,000 Americans demanding that the WWII Memorial be reopened.