Congress urges appeal in on-campus military recruiting case News
Congress urges appeal in on-campus military recruiting case

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives passed a resolution [THOMAS text] Wednesday urging the federal government to appeal a recent 3rd Circuit opinion [PDF] that struck down a law that prohibited colleges and universities to limit on-campus military recruiting because of its discrimination against homosexuals. The law, commonly known as the Solomon Act [THOMAS text], permits the government to deny funding to colleges and universities if they prevent or limit military recruiting efforts. In November, the federal appeals court said the Act violated the 1st Amendment rights of the colleges; a sentiment echoed in a District Court opinion issued Monday [PDF opinion text part 1 and part 2 via How Appealing]. Supporters of the resolution see the recent opinions as threatening recruitment of highly-qualified candidates to all military branches, especially the Judge Advocate General Corps, which draws candidates from law schools. Opponents see the military's discrimination against homosexuals as driving away able-bodied candidates. The resolution passed 327-84, but is non-binding. AP has more.