[Peace-discuss] military recruiting on campuses

[C. G. Estabrook]

[The courts are sitting on it, so to speak. The House voted overwhelmingly
on Feb. 2 in favor of a resolution expressing support for the Solomon
Amendment, which forces universities to allow military recruiters access
to their campus facilities despite the schools' anti-discrimination
policies. The "Sense of Congress" resolution, which passed by a vote of
327 to 84 (guess how our representative voted), notes that, "military
recruiting will be significantly harmed if military recruiters are denied
access to campuses and students." The non-binding resolution came in
response to a 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals decision last November that
declared the Solomon Amendment unconstitutional (on the argument,
interestingly enough, that the law interfered with a university's First
Amendment free-speech rights). This and other House votes are at
<http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/ROLL_000.asp>. Letters to legislators
would seem to be in order. --CGE]

...A law that allows the government to withhold funding from colleges that
ban military recruiters has come under fire recently from some who say
it's unconstitutional.

Yale Law School filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense when the
government threatened to withhold funds from the school if it did not give
complete access to military recruiters on its campus.

Yale Law School argued that the law, known as the Solomon Amendment,
violated its First Amendment right to free speech because the military's
refusal to allow openly gay people in its ranks went against the
school's nondiscrimination policies.

In February, a U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of the school and
decided the Solomon Amendment breached its right to free speech.

In a separate ruling made in November, a federal appeals court also gave
law schools the right to ban military recruiters on campus. But the court
is now delaying enforcement of its ruling while it waits to see if the
Supreme Court will hear the case.

If the Supreme Court upholds the ruling, law schools all over the country
will be able to ban on-campus military recruiting.

A congressman from Minnesota is leading the effort to keep the Solomon
Amendment in place.

"This decision threatens to severely damage the ability of the military
to recruit the highly qualified candidates necessary during a time of
war," Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., said during a House floor debate Feb. 2.

For the military to most-effectively serve the United States, it needs the
most-qualified and well-trained citizens, he said.

"By denying recruiters the chance to offer these young men and women the
opportunity to serve, these colleges and universities are doing a
disservice to the safety and security of the United States," Kline said
in a statement on his Web site.

<http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2005/02/22/63376>