ANAHEIM : ACLU to Represent Twins in Scout Case

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said Thursday that it will represent 9-year-old twins who claim that they were expelled from their Anaheim Cub Scout pack for refusing to say the word God in the Scouts’ Oath.

ACLU senior staff counsel Jon W. Davidson said the Boy Scouts of America are “in the public eye as a symbol of America,” receive public funds, often meet in public schools and should not be permitted to discriminate on religious grounds.

The boys’ father and attorney, James Grafton Randall, said he invited the ACLU to join the suit and is delighted by the decision.

“This is a confirmation of the legitimacy of our civil rights suit,” Randall said.

The ACLU is also representing former Eagle Scout Timothy Curran, who was barred from becoming a troop leader because he is gay.

In a preliminary ruling in the Curran case, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has found that the Boy Scouts are a public organization that must comply with state civil rights laws but has yet to decide whether gay men can nonetheless be barred, Davidson said.

Last week, an Orange County Superior Court judge issued a temporary injunction that bars the Boy Scouts from either expelling William and Michael Randall or forcing them to take any type of religious oath while the case is being litigated. The Boy Scouts have filed notice that they intend to appeal that order.