California Supreme Court sinks Sea Scouts case.A city government may deny benefits to a branch of the Boy Scouts because of the group's refusal to adhere to adhere to verb 1. follow, keep, maintain, respect, observe, be true, fulfil, obey, heed, keep to, abide by, be loyal, mind, be constant, be faithful 2. anti-discrimination policies, the California Supreme Court has ruled. In a March 9 unanimous ruling, the court concluded that Berkeley did not violate the constitutional rights of the Sea Scouts Sea Scout Noun a member of the branch of the Scouts which gives training in seamanship Noun 1. Sea Scout - a Boy Scout enrolled in programs for water activities Boy Scout - a boy who is a member of the Boy Scouts , an affiliate of the Boy Scouts, when it denied the organization free berths in the city's marina. The Sea Scouts sued the city in the late 1990s after free berthing rights at the Berkeley Marina The Berkeley Marina is the westernmost portion of the city of Berkeley, California, located west of the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80 and 580) at the foot of University Avenue on San Francisco Bay. were discontinued because the group discriminates against gays and atheists. The Sea Scouts, represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, sued the city, arguing that its free speech and association rights had been violated. Ruling in Evans v. City of Berkeley, the state's high court sided with Berkeley's anti-discrimination policy. "We agree with Berkeley and the Court of Appeal that a government entity may constitutionally require a recipient of funding or subsidy to provide written, unambiguous assurances of compliance with a generally applicable nondiscrimination non·dis·crim·i·na·tion n. 1. Absence of discrimination. 2. The practice or policy of refraining from discrimination. non policy," wrote Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar. "We further agree Berkeley reasonably concluded the Sea Scouts did not and could not provide assurances because of their required adherence to the BSA's [Boy Scouts of America Noun 1. Boy Scouts of America - a corporation that operates through a national council that charters local councils all over the United States; the purpose is character building and citizenship training ] discriminatory policies." An attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation told the Contra Costa Times The Contra Costa Times is a daily newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California. The paper serves Contra Costa and eastern Alameda counties, in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area. that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is under consideration. |
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