Voters don’t have a say in whether the Spanish cross is removed from the county seal, the County Board of Supervisors said before an angry audience Tuesday…

  The board shot down Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich’s motion to put the seal’s alteration on the November ballot by a 3-1 vote, saying the resulting legal battle with the American Civil Liberties Union would be hopeless.
    The supervisors said the case of the seal is not affected by the decision the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Monday preserving the phrase “under God” in the pledge of allegiance. The cross represents a specific religion, they said.
    Antonovich argued that the Spanish cross is a part of the area’s history and tradition, not necessarily a religious emblem.
    “If 100 percent of the people voted in favor of the seal, it doesn’t matter,” Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said. “If we challenged the case, in all likelihood we’re going to lose… I think it’s pretty clear.”
    Dozens of county residents interrupted supervisors Yaroslavsky, Yvonne B. Burke, and Gloria Molina with shouts of disapproval. The three supervisors said the government is unconstitutionally endorsing Christianity by bearing the cross on the county seal.
    “I will not be a party to supporting the defense of something unconstitutional,” Yaroslavsky said of the seal.
    One man “went ballistic,” as Yaroslavsky put it, prompting sheriff’s deputies to remove him from the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration where the meeting was held. Another 74-year-old woman stood up, shouted out of turn and refused to sit down; she was taken aside by a deputy, who tried to calm her.

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