Atheists groups have been calling for the exclusion of the object known as the "Ground Zero Cross" or the "World Trade Center Cross" from the National September 11 Museum since 2011, objecting to the display of a consecrated religious object on government-owned land. They argued their case in front of the appeals court on Thursday, alleging discrimination because though other religious objects have been included in the museum, a plaque recognizing that atheists also died in the attacks is not a part of current plans.
Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly took the court's rejection of the appeal to publicly mock the atheists' discrimination claims and laughed off the idea that the cross is an explicitly Christian symbol during a debate with American Atheists' head David Silverman. "You lost, you lost!" she said.
“The cross is Christian, that it was installed in a religious service on consecrated ground, which makes it a working shrine on public land in the World Trade Center, and we think the atheists who also died on 9/11, and the Muslims and the Jews, should all have their equal presence,” Silverman said, according to Raw Story.
Kelly belittled the claims of distress brought by the plaintiffs in the case, asking “You’re accusing the other side of being disingenuous so I’m just probing your claims to see if — are they real, David?” She argued that the cross is a historical artifact and dismissed his arguments against its inclusion as an explicitly religious symbol.
Watch the debate above.
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