Court Declines Appeal From Scouts on Denial of Benefit

The U.S. Supreme Court declined last week to hear an appeal by a Boy Scouts of America affiliate that was denied the free use of a boat marina owned by the city of Berkeley, Calif., because of the Scouts’ policy barring gays and atheists.

The city disqualified the Berkeley Sea Scouts from rent-free use of berths for its boats because the group refused to disavow the BSA’s national policy prohibiting homosexuals and those who refuse to profess a belief in God from membership or leadership positions, according to court papers.

It was the latest skirmish between the Boy Scouts and local governments, including school districts, over whether the BSA can maintain its exclusionary policies and still receive favorable treatment in the rental of government facilities and the like. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that a state’s attempt under its nondiscrimination laws to force the Boy Scouts to accept a homosexual as a leader violated the organization’s First Amendment...