Supreme Court to consider discriminatory student group at public university

Can a public university deny funding to a Christian student group if the group refuses to allow gay students to vote or take on leadership roles? That’s the question being asked in the case coming before the U.S. Supreme Court: Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. In the case, the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law’s chapter of the Christian Legal Society was told it would be not recognized by the school if it did allow gay members to join, vote and take on leadership roles in the group. CLS is suing the school in a First Amendment case that goes before the Supreme Court on Monday.

We talk with Greg Baylor, a senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, the group providing the defense for CLS. We also talk with Paul Smith, the lead attorney representing Hastings Outlaw, a gay rights group at the school which is also part of the case.