Scouts Expel Twins After Appellate Court’s Ruling : Rights: An injunction that allowed the boys to stay in the group without taking a religious oath is suspended.
SANTA ANA — In a legal setback for twin Anaheim Hills Cub Scouts, an appeals court has stayed a lower court order that allowed them to remain in their pack without having to swear an oath to God, in whom they do not believe.
Immediately after the ruling, the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America declared that William and Michael Randall were no longer members of the organization.
“The boys are devastated by the news,†said their father and attorney, James Grafton Randall. “They were scheduled to attend a den meeting next Saturday. . . . They’re crushed.â€
In a ruling issued Tuesday, the 4th District Court of Appeal said it was suspending a Superior Court judge’s preliminary injunction in the case, pending a further hearing on the matter. The appellate court did not elaborate.
The injunction, which was issued April 25 by Judge Richard O. Frazee Sr. permitted the two 9-year-olds to stay in their Anaheim Hills pack without being required to swear any type of religious oath.
After the appellate court’s action, Boy Scout officials said that the Randall twins could not remain in the organization because their membership dues had not been paid during the legal wrangling. The court battle started in February, when the Randalls filed a lawsuit alleging that the Boy Scouts of America had denied the twins their constitutional rights.
Because the Boy Scouts is a public entity, the Randalls said in their suit, it should be prohibited by state public accommodations laws from discriminating against members on religious grounds.
George A. Davidson, the Boy Scout’s lawyer, however, argued that the Boy Scouts is a private group whose members should have the freedom not to associate with boys who reject Scouting’s moral tenets.
The Randall boys have said that they think God “sort of sounds like a make-believe character.â€
No trial date has been set in the case.
With the injunction suspended, the boys must now accept “a duty to God†in addition to paying their membership dues to rejoin their pack, Davidson said.
“If they register, pay dues and accept the Cub promise, including the duty to God, they would be able to join,†he said.
James Randall said he tried to pay his sons’ registration dues but the Boy Scouts returned his checks during the court proceedings, effectively letting their memberships expire.
“Their (Boys Scouts’) position is balderdash,†he said. “They haven’t let us pay our dues. They have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep these boys out of Cub Scouts.â€
Davidson said the Randalls’ dues were sent to the wrong place and were not accompanied with their applications.
The Randalls must file a response to the appellate court by May 20 on why an injunction is warranted.
Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced that it would join in the lawsuit against the Boy Scouts and help represent the twins.
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