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524US2

Unit: $U95

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Cite as: 524 U. S. 569 (1998)

593

Scalia, J., concurring in judgment

States, 155 U. S. 438, 446 (1894). And the “something” is
that the decisionmaker, all else being equal, will favor appli-
cations that display decency and respect, and disfavor appli-
cations that do not.

This unquestionably constitutes viewpoint discrimination.1
That conclusion is not altered by the fact that the statute
does not “compe[l]” the denial of funding, ante, at 581, any
more than a provision imposing a ﬁve-point handicap on all
black applicants for civil service jobs is saved from being
race discrimination by the fact that it does not compel the
rejection of black applicants.
If viewpoint discrimination in
this context is unconstitutional (a point I shall address anon),
the law is invalid unless there are some situations in which
the decency and respect factors do not constitute viewpoint
discrimination. And there is none. The applicant who
displays “decency,” that is, “[c]onformity to prevailing stand-
ards of propriety or modesty,” American Heritage Diction-
ary, at 483 (def. 2), and the applicant who displays “respect,”
that is, “deferential regard,” for the diverse beliefs and val-
ues of the American people, id., at 1536 (def. 1), will always
have an edge over an applicant who displays the opposite.
And ﬁnally, the conclusion of viewpoint discrimination is
not affected by the fact that what constitutes “ ‘decency’ ”
or “ ‘the diverse values and beliefs of the American people’ ”
is difﬁcult to pin down, ante, at 583—any more than a
civil service preference in favor of those who display
“Republican-Party values” would be rendered nondiscrimi-
natory by the fact that there is plenty of room for argument
as to what Republican-Party values might be.

1 If there is any uncertainty on the point, it relates only to the adjective,
which is not at issue in the current discussion. That is, one might argue
that the decency and respect factors constitute content discrimination
rather than viewpoint discrimination, which would render them easier to
uphold. Since I believe this statute must be upheld in either event, I pass
over this conundrum and assume the worst.