Cite as: 508 U. S. 656 (1993)
Syllabus
(a) When the government erects a barrier that makes it more diffi-cult for members of one group to obtain a benefit than it is for members of another group, a member of the former group seeking to challenge the barrier need not allege that he would have obtained the benefit but for the barrier in order to establish standing. See, e. g., Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. Bakke, 438 U. S. 265. The "injury in fact" element of standing in such an equal protection case is the denial of equal treatment resulting from the imposition of the barrier—here, the inability to compete on an equal footing in the bidding process—not the ultimate inability to obtain the benefit. To establish standing, therefore, petitioner need only demonstrate that its members are able and ready to bid on contracts and that a discriminatory policy prevents them from doing so on an equal basis. Pp. 663-666. (b) Respondents' reliance on Warth v. Seldin, 422 U. S. 490—in which a construction association was denied standing to challenge a town's zoning ordinance—is misplaced. Unlike petitioner, the association in Warth claimed that its members could not obtain variances and permits, not that they could not apply for the variances and permits on an equal basis, and did not allege that any members had applied for a permit or variance for a current project. Pp. 666-668. (c) Petitioner's allegations that its members regularly bid on city contracts and would have bid on the contracts set aside under the ordinance were unchallenged and are assumed to be true. Pp. 668-669. 951 F. 2d 1217, reversed and remanded.
Thomas, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and White, Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, and Souter, JJ., joined. O'Connor, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Blackmun, J., joined, post, p. 669.
Deborah A. Ausburn argued the cause for petitioner. With her on the briefs was G. Stephen Parker.
Leonard S. Magid argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were Charles W. Arnold, Jr., and Steven E. Rohan.*
*Briefs of amici curiae urging reversal were filed for the Associated General Contractors of America, Inc., by Walter H. Ryland and Michael E. Kennedy; for the Equal Rights Advocates et al. by Curtis E. A. Karnow, Judith Kurtz, Eva Jefferson Paterson, Antonia Hernandez, and William C. McNeill III; for the Pacific Legal Foundation et al. by John
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