(15)    Tue 20 Jun 95 17:38
By: Robin Murray-o'hair
To: All
Re: It's a Parade for the Irish
St:
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@EID:89d3 1ed48cc0
@MSGID: 1:382/1006.0 8834FA32
@TID: WILDMAIL!/WC v4.11  94-0279
SUPREME COURT RULES IT'S A PARADE FOR THE IRISH

The Saint Patrick's Parade in Boston, Massachusetts is legendary,
with as many as 20,000 marchers and a million spectators. But for
three years now, there has been a fight over whether or not the
parade is a private activity of the South Boston Allied War
Veterans Council or simply a recreational event open to anyone.

Gays and lesbians, deciding it represented the latter, demanded
to be included in 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994. The organizers of
the parade, however, maintained that their associational and
free-speech rights would be violated if they were forced to
include the gay groups and their message. The Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court and the U.S. District Court both agreed
with the gay community who then joined the marches in 1992 and
1993. The Veterans cancelled the parade in 1994 rather than
include the gays. The Veterans Council wants to commemorate only
the role of the "traditional families in Irish history."

On Monday, June 19, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the
parade is an  expressive activity  of a particular association as
such that it can exclude other groups in order to protect its own
free speech rights. Writing for the majority of the Court,
Justice Souter maintained that "The issue in this case is whether
Massachusetts may require private citizens who organize a parade
to include among the marchers a group imparting a message the
organizers do not wish to convey. We hold that such a mandate
violates the First Amendment."

The gay marchers, who were represented by the Gay and Lesbian
Advocates and Defenders, had argued for inclusion in the parade
solely on the basis of a Massachusetts public accommodations law.
The Supreme Court therefore ruled on that question alone and did
not approach the question of whether the parade was an official
action of the city of Boston. Until 1992, the city allowed the
veterans' group sponsoring the parade to use the city seal and
financially supported the parade.

The exclusion of gays and Atheists from the Boy Scouts of America
has been challenged in several states under the same logic of
public accommodation laws. This decision may mean that lower
court decisions upholding the BSA's right to exclusion would be
viewed favorably by the Supreme Court.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade decision was No. 94-749, Hurley et
al vs. Irish-American Gay et al.

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