March 18, 2004 | Read Time: 1 minute
The U.S. Supreme Court last week refused to consider an appeal from the Boy Scouts of America, which unsuccessfully sued the State of Connecticut for excluding it from a state-run fund-raising campaign. The state’s action came after a 2000 Supreme Court ruling recognized the Boy Scouts of America’s right to bar homosexual members.
Boy Scouts had argued that Connecticut unfairly discriminated against the charity when it removed the Scouts from a list of about 900 charities eligible for donations from state employees as part of a payroll-deduction program. The state said it made the move because Boy Scouts does not allow gay members or employees. Connecticut requires campaign participants to have a nondiscriminatory membership policy. Along with the Scouts, 28 other charities were barred.
Boy Scouts of America, in Irving, Tex., accused the state of violating its constitutional rights. But last year, a federal court of appeals ruled that Connecticut’s exclusion of the Boy Scouts was permissible.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to review the case means the appeals-court decision stands. But Boy Scouts officials say they plan to continue to pursue other cases in which they believe state and local governments are discriminating against the group. For example, the Scouts sued San Diego after it barred the Scouts from using public facilities because of its ban on gay members.
Five states — Alabama, Idaho, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia — supported the Scouts’ Connecticut lawsuit, as did several nonprofit groups, such as the American Legion and the Campus Crusade for Christ.
The case is Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman, 03-956.
