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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Attorney General's Office has asked a judge to toss out a lawsuit filed against the state over roadside crosses honoring troopers killed in the line of duty.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Atheists, who claim the crosses are religious symbols that violate the separation of church and state.
However, the A-G's office insists the crosses are NOT religious symbols but rather symbols of death.
The state also contends the only message the crosses send is the sacrifice Utah Highway Patrol troopers make to monitor and patrol the state's highways.
The American Atheists are seeking to have the crosses removed and replaced with more secular monuments for U-H-P troopers.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
