Freedom of Association

• Author: John G. West
• Pages: 1110-1111

Page 1110

The freedom of association derives from the free speech and free assembly provisions of the FIRST AMENDMENT, and it protects the right of persons to enter into relationships with one another unhampered by intrusive governmental regulation. More precisely, the freedom of association encompasses two distinct guarantees: the FREEDOM OF INTIMATE ASSOCIATION and the freedom of expressive association. The freedom of intimate association protects "certain kinds of highly personal relationships," such as marriage. The freedom of expressive association, on the other hand, protects "the right to associate with others in pursuit of a wide variety of political, social, economic, educational, religious, and cultural ends."

In recent cases the Court has made clear the limits of these two guarantees with respect to ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS. In Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984) and Board of Directors of Rotary International v. Rotary Club (1987), the Court rejected arguments by both the Jaycees and Rotary International that laws prohibiting SEX DISCRIMINATION could not be applied to them without violating their members' freedom of association. Both organizations limited their regular membership to men. The Court held that neither the freedom of intimate association nor the freedom of expressive association protected this type of discrimination by the organizations in question. The freedom of intimate association did not apply at all because both organizations tended to have unlimited memberships and open meetings. The freedom of expressive association may have been implicated, but not sufficiently to override the government's COMPELLING STATE INTEREST to eradicate discrimination. As the Court said in Rotary, "The evidence fails to demonstrate that admitting women ? will affect in any significant way the existing members' ability to carry out their various purposes."

In New York State Club Association v. New York City (1988), the Court turned back yet another free association challenge to an antidiscrimination law. New York City prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and other grounds by any "place of public accommodation, resort or amusement," but exempts from this restriction any group "which is in its nature distinctly private." In 1984 the city passed a new law providing that no groups shall be considered private if it "has more than four hundred members, provides regular meal service and regularly receives payment...