Source: The Washington Post
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041115-122215-2330r.htm
On November 15, 2004 The Washington Post reported, "a group of outraged Angelenos is gathering signatures to restore a tiny cross to the county seal after the board of supervisors recently voted to remove it. The Committee to Support the Los Angeles County Seal is aiming to collect 341,212 signatures by March 1, which would force the board to enact an ordinance protecting the original seal from any changes not approved by the voters... The 3-2 board vote to eliminate the cross came in response to a May 19 letter from the American Civil Liberties Union, which threatened to file a lawsuit unless the cross was removed from the 50-year-old seal. The ACLU argued that the simple gold cross, described as the 'Latin cross,' was a 'sectarian religious symbol that represents the beliefs of one segment of the county's diverse population.'"