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Lahmann v. Grand Aerie of Fraternal Order of Eagles10/12/2005
pelling state interests of the highest order." Id. at 623, 624. The Court concluded that the state achieved its interests in the least restrictive way by applying the Human Rights Act to prevent the Jaycees from restricting regular membership to men. Id. at 626.
The Court found no evidence that admission of women as regular members would impair the Jaycees' ability to engage in the full range of "civic, charitable, lobbying, fundraising, and other activities worthy of constitutional protection under the First Amendment." Id. at 627. In terms that can be applied to the present case with only insignificant alterations, the Court continued:
"There is * * * 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. The Act requires no change in the Jaycees' creed of promoting the interests 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. Moreover, the Jaycees already invites women to share the group's views and philosophy and to participate in much of its training and community activities. Accordingly, any claim that admission of women as full voting members will impair a symbolic message conveyed by the very fact that women are not permitted to vote is attenuated at best."
Id. (citations omitted).
The reasoning of Roberts was applied in Bd. of Dirs. of Rotary Int'l v. Rotary Club, 481 US 537, 107 S Ct 1940, 95 L Ed 2d 474 (1987). There, the defendant, Rotary International (Rotary), was a private humanitarian organization devoted to encouraging high ethical standards in professional contexts and "good will and peace in the world." Id. at 539 (citation omitted). Rotary challenged the application of California's public accommodation act, the Unruh Act, to require the admission of women in its all-male clubs. Rotary contended that its exclusionary policy created an "aspect of fellowship" that the men enjoyed, and that the all-male policy facilitated the establishment of clubs in foreign countries. Id. at 541. The Court determined that application of the statute did not unduly interfere with the club members' freedom of expressive association, explaining:
"In this case * * * the evidence fails to demonstrate that admitting women to Rotary Clubs will affect in any significant way the existing members' ability to carry out their various purposes. As a matter of policy, Rotary Clubs do not take positions on 'public questions,' including political or international issues. To be sure, Rotary Clubs engage in a variety of commendable service activities that are protected by the First Amendment. But the Unruh Act does not require the clubs to abandon or alter any of these activities. It does not require them to abandon the
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