Supreme Court has opportunity to end anti-religious bigotry in many states

May 19, 2003

Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal in Locke v. Davey means that the justices now have the opportunity to strike down Washington's "Blaine Amendment," and for all practical purposes, similar provisions in more than 30 other state constitutions.

"Blaine Amendments are the Jim Crow laws of our time," Becket Fund President Kevin J. Hasson said. "More than a hundred years after they were enacted, at the height of 19th Century nativist, anti-Catholic bigotry, they serve today to disadvantage people of all faiths who seek equal treatment in government-funded education programs. This case presents an opportunity for the Supreme Court to follow through on last year's Zelman decision and complete the task of banning anti-religious discrimination in education in all its forms."

Locke v. Dave y involves a college student named Joshua Davey, who applied for a government-funded "Promise Scholarship" in the state of Washington. The state first approved the scholarship, then rescinded it when officials found he planned to major in theology. Washington's Blaine Amendment (Article I, § 11 of the state constitution) states that "no pubic money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or the support of any religious establishment." It was included in the Washington Constitution as a condition of admission to the Union, as was the case with many other states in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has filed lawsuits challenging Blaine Amendments in South Dakota and Massachusetts, and will file an amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in Locke v. Davey . In addition to its main website (www.becketfund.org), The Becket Fund operates a special website devoted entirely to Blaine Amendments: www.blaineamendments.org .

Relevant Cases

• Locke v. Davey