by Linda Hills

About the author: Linda Hills is executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial counties in California.

The California Supreme Court stood both justice and Boy Scout Law on their heads in March 1998. Its ruling that the Scouts may exclude those who are gay or who do not share the Scouts’ view of God ignored the court’s own record of banning discrimination by essentially public organizations.

This is also not a victory the Scouts should be proud of. It allows the Scouts to continue to contradict the beliefs they claim to represent as expressed in the Boy Scout Law.

A Public Organization

California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination by “all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.” The California Supreme Court...