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Lahmann v. Grand Aerie of Fraternal Order of Eagles10/12/2005
ir basic goals of humanitarian service, high ethical standards in all vocations, good will, and peace. Nor does it require them to abandon their classification system or admit members who do not reflect a cross section of the community. Indeed, by opening membership to leading business and professional women in the community, Rotary Clubs are likely to obtain a more representative cross section of community leaders with a broadened capacity for service."
Id. at 548-49 (citations omitted). The Court added, "Even if the Unruh Act does work some slight infringement on Rotary members' right of expressive association, that infringement is justified because it serves the State's compelling interest in eliminating discrimination against women." Id. at 549.
Thus, both Roberts and Bd. of Dirs. of Rotary Int'l demonstrate that application of an antidiscrimination law does not impermissibly abridge a group's right to expressive association when the expression resides principally in a membership policy that discriminates based on sex. In the present case, although application of the act would make the gendered language in the aerie rites inaccurate for mixed company, the effect on the entire ritual is slight.Moreover, a preference for male company alone does not amount to a "significant" burden on a group's expressive association. See Bd. of Dirs. of Rotary Int'l, 481 US at 548. As in Roberts, the record does not support the conclusion that requiring the Eagles to evenhandedly consider women for membership will significantly (or even modestly) impair the Eagles' broad-based social and charitable efforts. See Roberts, 468 US at 627. With the exception of the ritual, which is only occasionally performed, and once-weekly aerie membership meetings, all of the Eagles' activities are undertaken by both aerie and auxiliary members. The record indicates that aerie and auxiliary members cooperate directly in recruitment, committee service, fundraising, and charitable activities. Together, they accomplish the principal task of their social mission--socializing--on a daily basis. Finally, the fact that women, for a time, were permitted to join the Willamette aerie and were allowed to remain cuts against any claim that application of the act will impose more than a minor burden. See Bd. of Dirs. of Rotary Int'l, 481 US at 549 n 8 ("Appellants' argument [that admission of women will impair the effectiveness of its organization] is undermined by the fact that women already attend the Rotary Clubs' meetings and participate in many of their activities.").
The Eagles rely on Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 US 640, 120 S Ct 2446, 147 L Ed 2d 554 (2000), in which the Court held that application of New Jersey's public accommodations law to require the Boy Scouts to retain a homosexual member violated the Boy Scouts' expressive association rights. Dale employed the same analysis that the Court developed in Roberts and Bd. of Dirs.
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