The Right Decision On Freedom Of Association

The Minutemen lost their battle to march in the Laguna Beach PatriotÂ’s Day Parade. It was the right decision by the judge in the case.

A judge ruled Tuesday that organizers of Laguna Beach's annual Patriots' Day Parade have the right to exclude members of the volunteer border patrol group Minuteman Project.

The group's co-founder, illegal immigration opponent Jim Gilchrist, sought to be included in the parade lineup but the parade committee voted to ban the Minuteman Project on political grounds.
Parade organizers "have a right, within certain limits, to put on the parade they want to put on," Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner said.

It was not clear whether Gilchrist would seek an appeal. A message left for his attorney, Richard Ackerman, was not immediately returned.

The Minuteman Project uses volunteer civilians to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border for illegal immigrants. Two members of the group who live in Laguna Beach, a bohemian town of 24,000 tucked into coastal hills, filled out an application to enter a float in the March 4 parade.

The parade committee turned down the application because it found the group's participation would violate its bylaws, which ban organizations with a religious or political affiliation or message.

The committee also argued it could reject or accept whomever it wants because it is privately funded and receives no taxpayer money.

Duh. This is a simple issue – as a private group, the organizers have the right to include or exclude on whatever basis they choose. This is no different than the Catholic group in New York that refuses to include gay-rights groups because it offends their religious sensibilities – and is even more defensible, on the basis that it excludes ALL political groups. We can debate whether or not such prohibitions are appropriate, but we cannot deny that such exclusions are legitimate, even when that means that groups we support are excluded.

Posted by: Greg at 12:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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