SAN FRANCISCO — California may refuse to provide subsidies to the Boy Scouts of America and other nonprofit groups that fail to comply with government antidiscrimination policies, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday.
The state high court's decision gives cities and government agencies the ability to impose antidiscrimination conditions on any group that receives a public benefit. The ruling was one of a handful across the country in which courts have permitted government agencies to exclude the Boy Scouts from programs because the Scouts bar gays and atheists.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday March 15, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 47 words Type of Material: Correction
Pacific Legal Foundation -- An article in some editions of Friday's California section on the final days of the Harry and Grace Steele Foundation incorrectly characterized one of its beneficiaries, the Pacific Legal Foundation, as an abortion foe. The Pacific Legal Foundation takes no position on abortion.
In a ruling written by Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, the court upheld a decision by the city of Berkeley to end a decades-long tradition of providing free berthing at a city marina to the Sea Scouts, an affiliate of the Boy Scouts.
The Sea Scouts argued that it had never discriminated and complained that the city was violating its 1st Amendment rights to free speech and association.
But the court said the group's refusal to pledge to comply with the city's antidiscrimination policy justified Berkeley's action.
"A government entity may constitutionally require a recipient of funding or subsidy to provide written, unambiguous assurances of compliance" with an antidiscrimination policy, Werdegar wrote. The requirement does not violate free speech rights because "to condition a public benefit on assurances of nondiscrimination is not to compel advocacy of a viewpoint," the court said.
The case attracted widespread interest. Groups weighing in the litigation on behalf of the Sea Scouts included the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting and the National Club Assn.
Supporting Berkeley were the League of California Cities and California Assn. of Counties, the Anti-Defamation League, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and three foundations of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Berkeley City Atty. Manuela Albuquerque called Thursday's ruling an important civil rights victory that was likely to have impact beyond California.
"The court is saying, 'You may discriminate all you want, but you may not do it on the public's dime,' " Albuquerque said.
Antidiscrimination policies are widespread in California cities, but Berkeley's was the only one she knew of that has been challenged in court, she said.
