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Lambda Legal Says Schools??? Right to Protest Not Squelched by Supreme Court Decision on Solomon Amendment
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"Though recruiters cannot be stopped from entering campuses, universities have an opportunity and an obligation to teach their students about fairness in the workplace, including the U.S. military.???
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(New York, March 6, 2006) — Today, the Supreme Court upheld the Solomon Amendment, which forces law schools to allow military recruiters on campus if they wish to continue receiving public federal funds. A collection of law schools sued to invalidate the law as a violation of their First Amendment rights based on their opposition to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. While the unanimous opinion upholds the Solomon Amendment, it leaves room for students as well as the universities themselves to speak out against the military’s anti-gay policy and military recruiters.
“The opinion makes clear that there are numerous actions that students and law schools can take to show their abhorrence of the military’s policy that discriminates against gay and lesbian people,” said Jon W. Davidson, Legal Director of Lambda Legal. “Though recruiters cannot be stopped from entering campuses, universities have an opportunity and an obligation to teach their students about fairness in the workplace, including the U.S. military.”
The opinion, written by Chief Justice Roberts, states, “The Solomon Amendment regulates conduct, not speech. It affects what law schools must do-afford equal access to military recruiters-not what they may or may not say.… Students and faculty are free to associate to voice their disapproval of the military’s message.” The Solicitor General acknowledged at oral argument in the case that schools can take actions in opposition to the military’s discriminatory policy, saying, “they could engage in speech, they could help organize student protests.”
Lambda Legal joined the American Civil Liberties Union’s amicus brief supporting the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. (FAIR).
Lambda Legal will soon be issuing a briefing to law students and law schools offering suggestions on actions that they can take in response to the presence of military recruiters on campus.
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Jackie Yodashkin P: 212-809-8585 ext.229
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