Philip K. Paulson

Philip Kevin Paulson
Phil Paulson. 2006. Recognition ceremony, El Cajon, CA.
Born1947
Clayton, Wisconsin[1]
DiedOctober 25, 2006(2006-10-25) (aged 58–59)
San Diego, California
NationalityAmerican
OccupationUniversity Professor
Known forMount Soledad cross controversy

Philip Kevin Paulson (1947 – October 25, 2006) was a U.S. Army combat veteran of the Vietnam War who, as an atheist, was the lead plaintiff in a series of lawsuits to remove a Christian cross from a prominent summit in the city of San Diego. He spent seventeen years, starting with a pro se action against the city, then as lead plaintiff, in multiple successful federal court challenges to remove the 43-foot (13 m) high cross from this government owned land. Although removal was favored by successive court rulings, various tactics, including referendums, appeals and finally removing the underlying land to federal ownership prevented removing the cross.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference signonsandiego_1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).