The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the Connecticut State Employee Campaign Committee's decision to exclude the Boy Scouts from its charitable fundraising campaign because the Boy Scouts discriminated against homosexuals by barring them from certain positions of employment and leadership. The Committee acted after a ruling by the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) that the Committee would be violating Connecticut's Gay Rights Law if it continued to include the Boy Scouts in its campaign. Blumenthal represented state Comptroller Nancy Wyman. Wyman is a member of the campaign committee and her office administers the campaign.

"This decision reaffirms that our state breaks the law if it supports organizations that discriminate," said Blumenthal. "The legislature has prohibited discrimination by the State against gays and lesbians - a ban against state support for any organization that discriminates, which has now been upheld by the Court. I recognize that the Boy Scouts have a long, proud history of public service meriting generous support, if legally possible."

"I am gratified by today's decision. The State of Connecticut has a long and honored history of protecting the civil rights of all citizens. We cannot and will not do business with organizations that violate those protections," said Wyman.

"On behalf of the Commission, we are pleased about the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to uphold the Commission's declaratory ruling. The Commission expended substantial time and energy to deliberate the issue. We thank our legal team for their efforts and advice," said Cynthia Watts Elder, CHRO Executive Director, and Amalia Vazquez Bzdyra, CHRO Chairperson.

In an opinion by Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi, the three judge panel unanimously concluded that, contrary to the Boy Scouts' claims, the Committee's action did not violate the Scouts' first amendment rights, nor did it violate state law. The court noted that the Connecticut legislature had enacted the Gay Rights Law "in order to protect people from pervasive and invidious discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation," and that "Gay men and lesbians have a right to be free from the discrimination and degrading homophobia that is prevalent in our society."

The court's decision upheld a July 2002 ruling by United States District Court Judge Warren Eginton that the state did not discriminate against the Boy Scouts when it removed the group from the list of charities to which state employees can donate.

The State Employee Campaign is an annual workplace charitable campaign established by the legislature to raise funds from state employees for charitable and public health, welfare, environmental, conservation and service purposes. State employees may choose to contribute to participating charities by payroll deduction.