A group of Christian students is asking the US Supreme Court to strike down as unconstitutional a school anti-discrimination policy that forces them to accept as voting members and potential leaders classmates who do not share their core religious beliefs.<\/p>\n
A lawyer for the Christian Legal Society is set to argue on Monday that the school\u2019s policy violates the Christian students\u2019 First Amendment right to freely associate with like-minded individuals who share a common faith.<\/p>\n
At issue is a non-discrimination policy that applies to all student groups at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. The policy bars student groups from discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, sex, or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n
Hastings officials refused to recognize the Christian Legal Society (CLS) as a registered student organization because they said the group\u2019s faith-based by-laws reflected intent to discriminate against gay and lesbian students and others who do not embrace the group\u2019s religious beliefs. Under the school policy, student groups must agree to accept any student as a voting member.<\/p>\n