Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Boy Scout Case

The Boy Scouts of America faced a legal setback Monday when the Supreme Court refused to hear a case out of Berkeley, Calif., in which a Boy Scout sailing group, the Sea Scouts, lost free use of a public marina because the organization bars atheists and gay people, reports The Associated Press. The refusal to take the case let stand a unanimous California Supreme Court ruling that Berkeley may treat the Berkeley Sea Scouts differently from other nonprofit organizations because of the group’s membership policies.

This latest action follows a string of similar setbacks in Connecticut and Philadelphia, as well as a separate matter in which federal judges in two court cases that are being appealed have ruled that government aid to the Boy Scouts is unconstitutional because the national organization requires members to swear an oath of duty to God.

Boy Scouts of America downplayed the significance of the latest Supreme Court decision. “There will be other opportunities for the Supreme Court to affirm First Amendment protections for organizations dealing with government agencies,” George Davidson, the longtime lawyer for the Scouts, said in a statement.