682
Stevens, J., dissenting
Several principles are made perfectly clear by Jaycees and Rotary Club. First, to prevail on a claim of expressive association in the face of a State's antidiscrimination law, it is not enough simply to engage in some kind of expressive activity. Both the Jaycees and the Rotary Club engaged in expressive activity protected by the First Amendment,14 yet that fact was not dispositive. Second, it is not enough to adopt an openly avowed exclusionary membership policy. Both the Jaycees and the Rotary Club did that as well.15 Third, it is not sufficient merely to articulate some connection between the group's expressive activities and its exclusionary policy. The Rotary Club, for example, justified its male-only membership policy by pointing to the " 'aspect of fellowship . . . that is enjoyed by the [exclusively] male membership' " and by claiming that only with an exclusively male membership
vation that BSA ignores the exemption contained in New Jersey's law for " 'any place of public accommodation which is in its nature reasonably restricted exclusively to one sex,' " including, but not limited to, " 'any summer camp, day camp, or resort camp, bathhouse, dressing room, swimming pool, gymnasium, comfort station, dispensary, clinic or hospital, or school or educational institution which is restricted exclusively to individuals of one sex.' " See Brief for State of New Jersey as Amicus Curiae 12-13, n. 2 (citing N. J. Stat. Ann. § 10:5-12(f) (West 1993)).
14 See Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U. S. 609, 626-627 (1984) ("[T]he organization [has] taken public positions on a number of diverse issues . . . worthy of constitutional protection under the First Amendment" (citations omitted)); Board of Directors of Rotary Int'l v. Rotary Club of Duarte, 481 U. S. 537, 548 (1987) ("To be sure, Rotary Clubs engage in a variety of commendable service activities that are protected by the First Amendment").
15 The Jaycees openly stated that it was an organization designed to serve the interests of "young men"; its local chapters were described as " 'young men's organization[s]' "; and its membership policy contained an express provision reserving regular membership to young men. Jaycees, 468 U. S., at 612-613. Likewise, Rotary International expressed its preference for male-only membership: It proclaimed that it was " 'an organization of business and professional men' " and its membership policy expressly excluded women. Rotary Club, 481 U. S., at 539, 541 (emphasis added).
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