Court Upholds Campus Military Recruiting

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously March 6 that colleges may not bar military recruiters from their campuses based upon the Defense Department’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy toward homosexuals. At issue was the 1995 Solomon Amendment, which barred the federal government from disbursing money to colleges and universities that obstruct on-campus recruiting by the military services. The court upheld the law on an 8-0 decision, rejecting arguments that the issue was connected with First Amendment freedom of speech. The court went further by ruling that Congress could demand campus access by military recruiters without linkage to federal funds. Chief Justice John Roberts said, “a military recruiter’s mere presence on campus does not violate a law school’s right to associate, regardless of how repugnant the law school considers the recruiter’s message.”