Dan Noble, 26, a gay Yale University Law School student who camped out overnight to get a courtroom seat, said, “You feel discriminated against when some recruiters will interview your fellow students but won’t interview you.”
In an unusual move, immediately after the argument the Supreme Court released an audiotape to news organizations because of high interest in the case. Cameras are not allowed in the Supreme Court and recordings of the proceedings normally are not released until the end of the term.
A federal law, known as the Solomon Amendment after its first congressional sponsor, mandates that universities, including their law and medical schools and other branches, give the military the same access as other recruiters or forfeit federal money.
Federal financial support of colleges tops $35 billion a year, and many college leaders say they could not forgo that money.
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who is retiring and probably won’t get to vote in the case, said colleges can post disclaimers on campus noting their objections to the military policy.
Dozens of groups filed briefs on both sides of the case, the first gay-rights related appeal since a contentious 2003 Supreme Court ruling that struck down laws criminalizing gay sex.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters that “schools should make decisions for themselves — they’re free institutions, and they can decide what they wish to do.”
The court’s ruling is expected to take several months.
The case is Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights.
— Associated Press
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