Today, the US Supreme Court ruled against a Christian student group at a law school that barred gays. The Court ruled, 5 to 4, that the 1st Amendment rights of the Christian Legal Society at San Francisco's Hastings School of Law were not infringed when the school withdrew official recognition. The school has a non-discrimination policy that states that student organizations may not turn away members due to religious beliefs or sexual orientation. CLS requires voting members sign a statement of faith and regards "unrepentant participation in or advocacy of a sexually immoral lifestyle" as being inconsistent with that faith.
"In requiring CLS — in common with all other student organizations — to choose between welcoming all students and forgoing the benefits of official recognition, we hold, Hastings did not transgress constitutional limitations," said Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wrote the 5-4 majority opinion for the court's liberals and moderate Anthony Kennedy. "CLS, it bears emphasis, seeks not parity with other organizations, but a preferential exemption from Hastings' policy."
Justice Kennedy voted with the majority, as he did in Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark decision that struck down Texas' sodomy laws.
The CLS has chapters at universities nationwide and has won similar lawsuits in other courts. This ruling is a major setback for the group.
The Supreme Court also refused to hear an appeal from a group of parents from Plano Independent School District, just north of Dallas, regarding distribution of religious materials at school. The case got a great deal of publicity locally and involved candy canes with explicit Christian messages affixed. The Plano ISD allowed the materials to be distributed before and after school and at recess and lunch. The parents alleged that their kids' First Amendment rights were infringed. A lower court ruled for the school district. Now that the Supreme Court has denied cert, the lower court ruling stands.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment