Jan Tucker admin@janbtucker.

com
Text of attachment on letterhead (as pdf); let me know if other Same Page Coalition organizations and allies want to do similar letters or sign on to this one.
March 11, 2014 From: callac@janbtucker.com To: invitations@jud.ca.gov Subject: Fight LGBT/Atheist/Agnostic Discrimination Dear Members Of The Advisory Committee On The Code Of Judicial Ethics, As a former Troop 325 (Arleta, California) Senior Patrol Leader and as State Director of the California League of Latin American Citizens I urge you to support a proposal to prohibit state judges from belonging to organizations, such as the Boy Scouts of America, which discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people and atheists/agnostics. The Boy Scouts recently approved letting LGBT young people, under the age of 18, belong to the Boy Scouts, but it still prohibits older LGBT people from serving in leadership positions in the Scouts. Likewise, it bars atheists and agnostics from participation. As you must know, there is growing acceptance of LGBT people throughout the nation. They are now allowed to marry in 17 states, and the District of Columbia, and no less an authority than the US Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government must recognize those marriages. As it happens, 17 states, and the District of Columbia, also ban discrimination against LGBT people. The Boy Scout oath, which must be taken by all Scouts, includes the pledge to be "morally straight. I and a growing number of Americans believe that discrimination against LGBT people and atheists agnostics is immoral. Judges, when they join the Scouts, or serve in scouting leadership positions, are, in effect, expressing support for that immoral policy. They are also injecting themselves into a controversy that they may eventually have to rule on in court minimally creating an appearance of impropriety under Canon III of the Judical Canons. In Rotary Club of Duarte [481 U.S. 537, 544 (1987)], which we believe was correctly decided by the United States Supreme Court, the Boy Scouts of America filed an amicus brief in support of the right to discriminate. We also believe that in BSA vs Dale [Boy Scouts of America, 706 A.2d 270, 275 (1998), 530 U.S. At 644] the Supreme Court wrongly decided the case just as

the California Supreme Court erred in deciding that California's Unruh Civil Rights Act did not apply to the BSA [Curran v. Mount Diablo Council of the Boy Scouts of America, 17 Cal.4th 670, 952 P.2d 218, 72 Cal.Rptr.2d 410 (1998)]. For all these reasons, I believe judges should not associate themselves with the Boy Scouts or other organizations that discriminate against LGBT people, atheists and/or agnostics. I urge you to support the proposed ban on judges joining such organizations. Respectfully Yours,

Jan B. Tucker State Director, CALLAC

Jan B. Tucker J.B. Tucker & Associates, PI-10143 P.O. Box 433 Torrance CA 90508-0433 Tel: 213.787.5476 Fax: 310.618.1950 http://www.janbtucker.com http://www.janbtucker.com/blog AIM: janbtucker Twitter: janbtucker Facebook: Jan B. Tucker Myspace: Jan B. Tucker