Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/09pdf/08-1371.pdf
Page Number: 83.0

Cite as:  561 U. S. ____ (2010) 

35 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

address this issue of pretext because the Ninth Circuit did 
not  do  so  is  hard  to  take,  given  that  the  Ninth  Circuit
barely  addressed  anything,  disposing  of  this  case  in  pre-
cisely two sentences.

Neither  of  those  two  sentences  addressed  the  “novel 
question,”  ante,  at  1,  to  which  the  bulk  of  this  Court’s 
opinion  is  devoted,  i.e.,  whether  the  accept-all-comers 
policy  is  reasonable  in  light  of  the  purposes  of  the  RSO 
forum and is viewpoint neutral, see ante, at 17–31.  If it is 
appropriate  for  us  to  consider  that  issue,  then  the  Ninth
Circuit’s failure to address the issue of pretext should not 
stand in the way of review by this Court. 

C 
One  final  aspect  of  the  Court’s  decision  warrants  com-
ment.  In  response  to  the  argument  that  the  accept-all-
comers-policy  would  permit  a  small  and  unpopular  group
to be taken over by students who wish to silence its mes-
sage,  the  Court  states  that  the  policy  would  permit  a
registered  group  to  impose  membership  requirements 
“designed  to  ensure  that  students  join  because  of  their 
commitment to a group’s vitality, not its demise.”  Ante, at 
27.  With this concession, the Court tacitly recognizes that
Hastings  does  not  really  have  an  accept-all-comers  pol-
icy—it  has  an  accept-some-dissident-comers  policy—and 
the  line  between  members  who  merely  seek  to  change  a 
group’s  message  (who  apparently  must  be  admitted)  and 
those who seek a group’s “demise” (who may be kept out) 
is hopelessly vague.

Here  is  an  example.  Not  all  Christian  denominations 
agree  with  CLS’s  views  on  sexual  morality  and  other 
matters.  During a recent year, CLS had seven members.
Suppose that 10 students who are members of denomina-
tions  that  disagree  with  CLS  decided  that  CLS  was  mis-
representing  true  Christian  doctrine.  Suppose  that  these
students  joined  CLS,  elected  officers  who  shared  their