Court Rules College Doesn't Have To Accept Anti-Gay Club

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/04/041806college.htm

A US District Court has dismissed a lawsuit by a Christian student group that claimed it was the victim of discrimination when the University of California's Hastings College of Law refused recognize it.

The Christian Legal Society said it should get campus funding and other benefits even though it refuses to open its membership to gays, lesbians and nonbelievers - all requirements of the San Francisco school.

"The First Amendment provides a right of expressive association," said Tim Tracey, an attorney for the society. "We want to associate with people that affirm a certain number of our beliefs."

Tracey said the group has a right to exclude people it does not wish to associate with, as does the Boy Scouts of America, pointing to the 2000 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that held the Boys Scouts and its affiliates can prohibit gays from joining scout troops and becoming scout leaders. The high court said the constitution gave scouts the right to choose its members.



very interesting ruling-doubt it will hold up though

[MadMaddie]

1. Isn't it interesting the Name is the Christian Legal Society?

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. "The First Amendment provides a right of expressive association"

But last time I looked, the First Amendment does not provide a right to receive funding for one's expressive association. And the courts have routinely upheld this interpretation; the Supreme Court did not rule that the BSA must be funded by government agencies, and it has refused to hear any case brought by the BSA claiming discrimination because governments with such laws have stopped funding.

But then, you can't expect Talibangelical bigots to have actually read the Constitution.

[wakeme2008]

3. This is a State Rights issue

State school following State laws....

[davidinalameda]

6. but it receives federal funds

[SaveElmer]

4. The controlling organization is the school...not the organization..

In the Boy Scout case the Scouts were the only controlling entity involved. Here, campus organizations are a part of the school, and school rules about who to associate with take precedence. Fairly straight forward actually.

[saltpoint]

5. How odd. And in San Francisco? I wouldn't have thought there were

any lesbian and gay people IN San Francisco.

_ _ _ _

I hail the court's decision and hope that at least one of the Christian Legal group gets the clue that discrimination as an official point of pride, let alone a featured tenet in your platform, is inhumane, legally questionable, and generally reprehensible thinking.

Hastings is about a block, isn't it, from Polk Street, one of the legendary gay districts of any U.S. city. Maybe these fundies need to look out the window once in a while. Get a subscription to the CHRONICLE.

Plug into the real world, little fundie goblins.