Calif. Supreme Court Prohibits Judges’ Boy Scouts Ties

The Supreme Court of California voted Friday to bar the state’s judges from belonging to the Boy Scouts of America because of the group’s stand on gays, the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times report. The seven justices unanimously approved the ban recommended last February by the court’s ethics advisory panel.

The ruling removes an exemption for nonprofit youth groups the court carved out in a 1996 decision that banned judges from membership with groups that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. The Boy Scouts began admitting openly gay youths last year but retained a prohibition on adult gay men and lesbians serving as troop leaders. The amendment leaves religious groups as the only remaining exemption to the anti-discrimination rule. Judges have until January 21, 2016, to comply with the change.