California judges will be banned from Boy Scouts as a result of vote by state supreme court
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Judges in California won’t be able to belong to nonprofit youth groups that practice discrimination because of an ethics proposal adopted last week by the state’s top court.
The ethics rule, which takes effect in January 2016, would bar membership in the Boy Scouts because the organization continues to ban gays and lesbians from leadership and staff positions, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Boy Scouts have, however, repealed a ban on membership by gay youths.
About two dozen states, including California, generally bar judges from belonging to groups that discriminate based on sexual orientation. (The San Francisco Chronicle say 23 states have the ban, while the Los Angeles Times says there are 22.)
California, however, had granted an exemption from that ban for judges affiliated with youth organizations that discriminate—an exemption intended to accommodate judges affiliated with the Boy Scouts. The California Supreme Court vote last week repeals that exemption.
Related article:
ABAJournal.com: “Judges would be banned from Boy Scout leadership under California ethics proposal
