Connecticut can bar Boy Scouts from charity list, court rules
By The Associated Press
07.30.02
HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut did not violate the rights of the Boy Scouts when it removed the group from a list of charities that state employees contribute to through a payroll-deduction plan, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled.
The Connecticut State Employee Campaign Committee removed the Boy Scouts from its list in 2000. The move came after the state's Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities found that including the Boy Scouts on the list violated the state's anti-discrimination laws, because of the scouts' policy that bars homosexuals from their organization.
The Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts and one Connecticut scouting council filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the state, arguing that exclusion from the list was a First Amendment violation.
The lawsuit followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found the Boy Scouts had a right to ban gay leaders.
In a decision dated July 22, U.S. District Court Judge Warren Eginton ruled in favor of the state.
"It has been readily acknowledged by all parties that the BSA may discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation," Eginton wrote. "But the issue before this Court is not a matter of the BSA's viewpoint on homosexuality, but of the BSA's compliance with the laws of the State of Connecticut."
State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, a named defendant in the lawsuit, said she was gratified by the court's decision.
"It just basically states that the state of Connecticut does not, and cannot by law, do business with organizations that discriminate," Wyman said.
George Davidson, a lawyer who represented the Boy Scouts, said the group would appeal.
"We remain confident that the Boy Scouts will be successful," Davidson said. They "have been singled out on the basis of viewpoint."
The campaign committee hires the United Way to collect the employee payroll deductions. But the state has the right to prevent the fund-raiser from giving the Boy Scouts any contributions not designated for a particular agency.
The 2001 campaign collected about $1.6 million from state employees.
The last time the Boy Scouts participated in the campaign, in 1999, state employees contributed $9,950 directly to them. The Scouts also received a portion of $200,000 in non-designated contributions.
Eginton's ruling was hailed by gay-rights organizations.
"The ruling makes clear that while the Boy Scouts may be allowed to discriminate, they are not entitled to any special privileges from the state," said Karen Loewy, an attorney with the Gay & Lesbian Advocates and & Defenders.
A spokesman for the Boy Scouts said the lawsuit was not about privileges, but constitutional rights.
"We respect everybody's right to have an opinion," said Greg Shields, the Scouts' national spokesman. "But we have a right to an opinion as well. We have a right to hold our values and beliefs just as everybody else does."