WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court declined Oct. 16 to hear an appeal of a California Supreme Court decision against a Scouting group denied free use of a Berkeley municipal facility because the Boy Scouts ban gays and atheists from their ranks.
The court declined, without comment, to consider Evans v. City of Berkeley (No. 06-40), which involved the Sea Scouts — a Scouting affiliate that teaches sailing and other skills. The scouts had sued to regain free use of three berths in a municipal arena for their boats.
They had enjoyed free access to the berths since the 1930s, court papers said. However, city officials determined, after passing a 1997 statute that barred the provision of city benefits to groups that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, the scouts violated the policy. They were asked to pay for the berths.
The scouts sued, claiming they were being singled out for their religious and moral beliefs in violation of their First Amendment rights.
The California court disagreed. In a unanimous decision last March, that panel said, “A government that requires aid recipients to conform their actions to its laws does not thereby enforce adherence to the philosophy or values behind those laws.”
In a controversial 2000 decision, the federal Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the scouts have a right to ban openly gay troop leaders. Since then, a spate of lawsuits have sprung up over whether cities may ban scout troops from its facilities in objection to that policy or the Scouting policy that requires Scouts and troop leaders to affirm a belief in God.
In a statement following the suit being turned down, the Scouts' attorney, George Davidson, said the case isn't over: “The issue of governments seeking to punish organizations for exercising their First Amendment rights is a recurring one. There will be other opportunities for the Supreme Court to affirm First Amendment protections for organizations dealing with government agencies.”
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