Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640, 41 (2000)

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680

BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA v. DALE

Stevens, J., dissenting

enjoyment of . . . a place of public accommodation because of . . . sex.' " Id., at 615. The Jaycees, however, claimed that applying the law to it violated its right to associate—in particular its right to maintain its selective membership policy.

We rejected that claim. Cautioning that the right to associate is not "absolute," we held that "[i]nfringements on that right may be justified by regulations adopted to serve compelling state interests, unrelated to the suppression of ideas, that cannot be achieved through means significantly less restrictive of associational freedoms." Id., at 623. We found the State's purpose of eliminating discrimination is a compelling state interest that is unrelated to the suppression of ideas. Id., at 623-626. We also held that Minnesota's law is the least restrictive means of achieving that interest. The Jaycees had "failed to demonstrate that the Act imposes any serious burdens on the male members' freedom of expressive association." Id., at 626. Though the Jaycees had "taken public positions on a number of diverse issues, [and] . . . regularly engage in a variety of . . . activities worthy of constitutional protection under the First Amendment," there was "no basis in the record for concluding that admission of women as full voting members will impede the organization's ability to engage in these protected activities or to disseminate its preferred views." Id., at 626-627. "The Act," we held, "requires no change in the Jaycees' creed of promoting the interest of young men, and it imposes no restrictions on the organization's ability to exclude individuals with ideologies or philosophies different from those of its existing members." Id., at 627.

We took a similar approach in Board of Directors of Rotary Int'l v. Rotary Club of Duarte, 481 U. S. 537 (1987). Rotary International, a nonprofit corporation, was founded as " 'an organization of business and professional men united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build good-

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