A group of atheists in Salt Lake City is taking on the State of Utah and the Utah Highway Patrol over the law enforcement agency's use of crosses on roadways to memorialize troopers killed in the line of duty.

The lawsuit has triggered a debate about whether a cross is an appropriate way of honoring troopers killed in the line of duty.

The American atheists filing the lawsuit said they respect the sacrifices the troopers have made, but they are offended by the used of what they call a religious symbol to honor them.

"Government should not endorse religion in general, nor should a government endorse a particular religion," attorney Brain Barnard said. "For a Jew to look at it, for a Muslim to look at it, for a Buddhist to look at it, they are not going to say that's a neutral symbol."

There are about a dozen of the crosses all around Utah, with each one remembering a trooper who lost his life while on duty.

A spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol said the crosses are an international sign of memorial and not just a religious symbol.

"These were the people we have known in the past and we need to memorialize those people," Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said.

The attorney for those filing the lawsuit says it's inappropriate for the crosses to be on government land and the crosses should not have the UHP logo on them.

The suit will be filed in Salt Lake's Federal Court.

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