Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday ended an emotional debate over the symbolism of the tiny gold cross on the county seal by deciding to remove it rather than defend it against a threatened ACLU lawsuit.

Advised by county attorneys that the cross might not withstand a court challenge, the Board of Supervisors voted to seek a compromise with the ACLU - perhaps by replacing the cross with images of a Spanish mission and Native Americans.

The closed-session decision came after an hour of spirited public debate that split the five-member board. Most speakers, including a pair of Los Angeles City Council members and a bearded man who earnestly told the board that God had spoken to him for the last seven years, favored keeping the cross.

"Where does it all end?" lamented Supervisor Don Knabe, who said that changing the county seal would be tantamount to "rewriting history" in a region shaped by Catholic missionaries. "I do not think we should capitulate. As the largest county in America, if we roll over, what's next?"

But other supervisors indicated that they wanted to avoid a potentially costly court fight, which Gloria Molina predicted, "We are going to lose."

The cross - along with a cow, a tuna fish, a Spanish galleon, the Hollywood Bowl and the Goddess Pomona cradling an armful of fruit - has adorned the county seal since 1957. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that the official insignia, which appears on everything from county vehicles and meeting rooms to employee badges and telephone books, was unconstitutional because it reflects "an impermissible endorsement of Christianity by the county government" and is a violation of the 1st Amendment.