Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman is a First Amendment case of national importance.
In May 2000, the state of Connecticut issued a ruling excluding the Boy Scouts from its state employees' charitable campaign -- in which 900 groups participate -- solely because of the Boy Scouts' constitutionally protected views and membership policies. The state does not fund the operation of the campaign. The contributions are made by state employees by payroll deductions.
The state singled out Connecticut Boy Scout councils that had participated in the campaign for 30 years, but still allowed a wide variety of other groups to participate, including gay and lesbian groups and numerous organizations that limit services to a particular sex, ethnicity, age group, or sexual orientation.
Boy Scouts of America and Connecticut Rivers Council filed suit against Nancy Wyman in her capacity as Comptroller of the State of Connecticut and as member of the Connecticut State Employee Campaign. The suit was filed on June 7, 2000. The District Court ruled in favor of the state in July 2002.
On July 9, 2003, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the state of Connecticut. In its opinion, the 2nd Circuit recognized that the Boy Scouts' policies were "constitutionally protected" under Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. The court nonetheless upheld removal of the Scouts from the charity list on the grounds that Connecticut did not "require" Boy Scouts of America to change its views, but merely required the Boy Scouts to "pay a price" for "exercising its First Amendment rights."
The 2nd Circuit's decision threatens First Amendment freedoms of speech and association and is part of a growing pattern of state agency actions and lower court decisions that have excluded the Boy Scouts, as well as traditional religious groups, from government facilities and programs because of their views and membership standards on matters of morality, religious belief, and sexual conduct. The 2nd Circuit's decision also is in direct conflict with Supreme Court precedent such as Boy Scouts of America v. Dale and Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of Universityof Virginia.
This case presents a First Amendment issue of national importance: The government cannot exclude an otherwise eligible organization from participating in a government program because of membership policies that preserve the organization's values and form the organization's expressive identity. There are 150 charitable campaigns run by states, public universities, and local governments nationwide, and more than 140,000 charities, including the Boy Scouts, participate. The Supreme Court's decision could have a profound effect on values- and faith-based organizations that participate in government programs across the country.
Just three years ago, the Boy Scouts appealed to the Supreme Court after the state of New Jersey violated the Boy Scouts' First Amendment rights. Now, because the Boy Scouts won at the Supreme Court, the state of Connecticut punished the Boy Scouts and again violated the First Amendment. The Boy Scouts of America hopes the Supreme Court will hear the case.
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