Why Philly should appeal the Boy Scout court win

On June 28, in the case of Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a law school (Hastings) does not have to recognize a religious student group that bars gay students.

So, with that as a precedent, it seems to me that Philly could ultimately prevail if it appeals last month's ruling in favor of the Scouts.

In the Philly case, a federal court jury decided that Philadelphia taxpayers must continue to subsidize the Boy Scouts' rent-free occupation of a city-owned building despite the fact that the Scouts' anti-gay policy violates the city's anti-discrimination charter. The decision was based on the opinion that the city violated the Scouts' First Amendment rights by requiring them to reject the national organization's anti-gay policy or be evicted.

However, in the Supreme Court case, the decision specifically held that "[the law school's] all-comers policy is a reasonable, viewpoint-neutral condition on access to the [Registered Student Organization (RSO)] forum; it therefore does not transgress First Amendment limitations."

Accordingly, and also just for the sake of principle, I hope the city will pursue its case further -- all the way to the same Supreme Court if necessary.