Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions

917 F. Supp. 1548, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1019, 1996 WL 42033
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedJanuary 29, 1996
DocketCiv. A. 93-T-1178-N
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 917 F. Supp. 1548 (Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions, 917 F. Supp. 1548, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1019, 1996 WL 42033 (M.D. Ala. 1996).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MYRON H. THOMPSON, Chief Judge.

The Alabama public funds and facilities statute, § 16-1-28 of the Alabama Code 1975 (Michie 1995), as summarized in its preamble, “prohibit[s] any college or university from spending public funds or using facilities, directly or indirectly, to sanction, recognize or support any group that promotes a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws” and “prohibit[s] any group from permitting or encouraging its members or others to engage in or provide materials on how to engage in the lifestyle or actions.” 1 Plaintiff Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance (GLBA), a student organization at the University of South Alabama, challenges the constitutionality of this statute, both facially and as applied to it by the university, under the first and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, as enforced through 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West 1994). GLBA seeks declaratory and injunc-tive relief and has named as defendants the Attorney General of the State of Alabama and the President and the Dean of Students of the University of South Alabama. The jurisdiction of the court has been properly invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1331 (West 1994), 1343(a)(3) (West 1994). For the reasons that follow, the court holds that § 16-1-28, facially and as applied to GLBA, violates the first amendment.

I.

A.

Subsection (a) to § 16-1-28 provides that “No public funds or public facilities shall be used by any college or university to, directly or indirectly, sanction, recognize, or support the activities or existence of any organization or group that fosters or promotes a lifestyle or actions prohibited by the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws.” 2 Subsection (b) *1550 provides that “No organization or group that receives public funds or uses public facilities, directly or indirectly, at any college or university shall permit or encourage its members or encourage other persons to engage in any such unlawful acts or provide information or materials that explain how such acts may be engaged in or performed.” And Subsection (c) attempts to save the statute from constitutional invalidity by providing that it “shall not be construed to be a prior restraint of the first amendment protected speech” and “shall not apply to any organization or group whose activities are limited solely to the political advocacy of a change in the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws of this state.”

B.

In the fall of 1991, the Student Government Association at Auburn University (Auburn SGA) voted to deny the Auburn Gay and Lesbian Association permanent status as an officially recognized campus organization. 3 In explaining its action, the Auburn SGA stated that the “group does not meet the idea[l]s entrusted to the Student Senate on behalf of the students at Auburn” and specifically referred to the laws “prohibiting sodomy and sexual misconduct.” 4 The Auburn administration overruled the decision and recognized the Gay and Lesbian Association as a chartered student organization and, despite further appeals from alumni and other groups, reaffirmed its decision. 5

In response to these events, which had become the subject of much public discussion across the state, the Alabama House passed a resolution supporting the Auburn SGA and denouncing the university’s official recognition of the Gay and Lesbian Association. The resolution stated, in part, “That the House of Representatives of Alabama does not condone violations of the laws of the State of Alabama, nor does it recognize a homosexual life style as an acceptable or legal alternative life style, but rather acknowledges that the State of Alabama is and resolves that it shall remain, historically traditional in its view of the family, and that the State of Alabama is a place where families can live and grow without being debased or immoralized.” 6 The Alabama Senate passed a similar resolution. 7 The Alabama Legislature later passed § 16-1-28.

According to press accounts and statements of representatives, the Legislature’s intent was to suppress the official presence and voice of gay and lesbian groups at state supported colleges and university campuses. 8 Members of the Auburn SGA lobbied for the bill, and one state representative went so far as to use an effeminate voice, imitating the “stereotypical image” of a gay man, when he joked with his colleagues to vote no. 9 A representative’s press release stated: “who in their right mind would put [homosexuals] in any position within our educational system where they might become role models of the young[;] ... can anything destroy the possibility of happiness for a young person more than turning him or her away from traditional marriage and family life, to the dismal sewers of sodomy and lesbianism.” 10 While the statute was pending before the Legislature, the State Attorney General issued an opinion advising a representative that “an organization that professes to be comprised of homosexuals and/or lesbians may not receive state funding or use state-supported facilities to foster or promote those illegal, *1551 sexually deviate activities defined in the sodomy and sexual misconduct laws.” 11

C.

The University of South Alabama encourages a wide variety of student groups to be active on its campus. 12 The university believes that the activity of student groups “enhances the life on campus.” 13 It is also committed to freedom of expression and, in particular, academic freedom. 14 Based on these precepts, the university has set up a procedure for the formation and registration of student organizations. 15 Once registered, a student group enjoys various benefits at the school, including use of the meeting rooms in the school recreation center, on-campus banking services, and direct university funding through the Student Government Association (USA-SGA). 16 There are over 100 registered student organizations at the university. 17

The GLBA at the University of South Alabama is an officially recognized student organization whose purpose, according to its constitution, is - to provide support for the university’s homosexual students and to educate the public on homophobia. 18 The GLBA does not advocate the violation of the sodomy statutes. 19

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Related

Chandler v. James
985 F. Supp. 1068 (M.D. Alabama, 1997)
Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Pryor
110 F.3d 1543 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
Gay Lesbian Bisexual Alliance v. Sessions
930 F. Supp. 1492 (M.D. Alabama, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
917 F. Supp. 1548, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1019, 1996 WL 42033, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gay-lesbian-bisexual-alliance-v-sessions-almd-1996.