The Supreme Court ended its current term this week, issuing its final orders on Tuesday. On Monday, the court ruled against the Christian Legal Society in its suit to be recognized as an official student group at the University of California’s Hastings College of Law. Hastings refused CLS recognition based on the fact that it required voting members to subscribe to a statement of faith and to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage between a man and a woman, including homosexuality. Hastings said the requirement violated the school’s non-discrimination policy, and CLS argued that the policy violated their freedom of religion and freedom of association.
In ruling against CLS, the Supreme Court declined to decide whether such a non-discrimination policy is a violation of the First Amendment. Instead, the court relied on Hastings’ interpretation that they required student groups to accept “all comers,” meaning that they didn’t specifically target CLS and their beliefs, but applied the policy to all student groups. CLS still has a chance of victory. The Supreme Court remanded the decision back to the circuit court, where CLS can win if it demonstrates, as it believes, that Hastings did not in fact apply the “all comers” policy, but specifically targeted CLS.
(Source: Intercessors for America)