Court Opinion

ID: 9757383
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 22:38:12.430605+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:38.853300
License: Public Domain

BELSON, Associate Judge,
with whom NEBEKER, Associate Judge, Retired, joins, concurring in part and dissenting in part:
This appeal requires the court to evaluate the constitutional rights of Georgetown University to free speech and the free exercise of religion and the statutory right of certain Georgetown students and their organizations to be free from discrimination based on homosexual orientation. On the basis of the analysis I set forth below, I conclude that, to the extent those rights conflict in the context before us, Georgetown’s constitutional rights are paramount. This conclusion results from a balancing of the rights secured by the Constitution against those rights created by the District of Columbia Human Rights Act,1 and is not deprecatory of the efforts of the District of Columbia Council to prevent discrimination on the basis of the several factors that the Council has identified in the Human Rights Act. I would affirm the trial court’s ruling in favor of Georgetown University on constitutional grounds. I join Judge Mack in concluding that the Human Rights Act should not be applied to require Georgetown University to grant “university recognition” and its concomitant endorsement to the Gay People of Georgetown University (GPGU) and the Gay Rights Coalition (GRC). I disagree, however, with her conclusion, and this court’s ruling, that the statute requires the university to provide facilities and services to those groups. Even if it should be concluded, upon appropriate findings of fact, that the statute so requires, the free exercise of religion and free speech clauses of the first amendment would prevent its application to Georgetown in this case.
Two aspects of Judge Mack’s opinion give rise to my partial disagreement. One relates to procedure. The opinion overlooks the fact that, in granting summary judgment against Georgetown University on the issue of whether it had violated the Human Rights Act, Judge Braman mistakenly concluded that there was no genuine issue as to material facts. In actuality, there were obvious factual issues concerning the university’s reasons for withholding recognition from the groups. One central issue was whether the university withheld recognition because of the sexual orientation of the members of the groups, or instead because of the groups’ advocacy of homosexual life-styles, conduct inconsistent with religious beliefs to which Georgetown adheres. Judge Mack’s opinion, I suggest, compounds Judge Braman’s error by going on to make its own findings of fact to support its conclusion that the university’s purpose was discriminatory.
My second disagreement with Judge Mack’s opinion relates to substantive law. *63After concluding correctly that the first amendment protects Georgetown University against being required to endorse the appellant student groups, Judge Mack’s opinion reaches the inconsistent conclusion that Georgetown can be forced to subsidize activities by those groups that offend the religious beliefs to which the university adheres. In my view, if the Act cannot require endorsement, it cannot require subsidy either. If it should require either, the Act on this record would abridge Georgetown’s first amendment rights of the free exercise of religion and free speech.
My disagreement with Judge Ferren’s opinion2 arises principally from its consistent short-weighting of Georgetown’s first amendment rights in the constitutional balancing process. Judge Ferren urges that the Act requires that the university exercise “tolerance” with regard to the student groups, “tolerance” being defined as “an expressed willingness to let someone else have a say without indicating what you think about it.” Ante at 58. Georgetown indisputably is already permitting such expression by the student groups. What Georgetown has declined to do is to endorse or subsidize the groups’ promotion of ideas and activities antithetical to the religious doctrines that Georgetown espouses.3
I.
As Judge Mack’s opinion notes, ante at 16, although Georgetown did not appeal from Judge Braman’s ruling that it had violated the District of Columbia Human Rights Act in denying recognition to the student groups, we must consider a statutory basis for ruling before undertaking to decide this case on the basis of whether the Constitution requires a certain result. In interpreting the statute, of course, we should attempt to avoid a construction that would bring it into conflict with the Constitution. I would hold that Judge Braman erred in entering summary judgment on the basis that Georgetown had violated the Human Rights Act by discriminating against the student groups.
The first reason that summary judgment on the statutory issue was inappropriate is that GPGU and GRC never asserted, and could not have asserted, that there was no genuine issue concerning facts that control the outcome of their suit. Most important, there was sharp dispute concerning the reason that Georgetown denied recognition to those groups. In their statement of undisputed facts, the student groups set forth the facts that they asserted entitled them to summary judgment, including the fact that Georgetown denied them recognition but, at the same time, granted recognition to a wide range of other cultural and political organizations. At most, such facts may have permitted an inference that Georgetown acted out of discriminatory motives, but such an inference cannot be resolved against Georgetown to form the basis for summary judgment. See Murphy v. Army Distaff Found., Inc., 458 A.2d 61, 62 (D.C.1983). Therefore, even if Georgetown had not opposed GPGU’s and GRC’s motion for summary judgment, Judge Bra-man would have erred in granting it since the student groups did not allege facts sufficient to show that they were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Milton Properties, Inc. v. Newby, 456 A.2d *64349, 354 (D.C.1983); Burch v. Amsterdam Corp., 366 A.2d 1079, 1983-84 (D.C.1976).
Moreover, papers filed by Georgetown in opposition to the motion manifestly precluded summary judgment. Georgetown presented competent, sworn evidence — affidavits from those officials responsible for the decision to deny recognition to GPGU and GRC — that provided more than ample basis for a finding that the university’s decision resulted from its determination that the objectives and activities of those groups conflicted with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. (R. 346-47, 354-55, 540, 542-44) For example, the affidavit of Timothy S. Healy, President of Georgetown University, included the following explanation for the university’s decision to deny recognition to the student groups:
8. I determined that it would be contrary to the role of Georgetown University as a Roman Catholic and Jesuit University for the University officially to recognize and endorse these organizations. This decision was made in part upon my understanding that the organizations at issue embody the idea that human beings should be identified and their essential nature classified in terms of their sexual preference. In addition, my decision was based upon my understanding that the organizations at issue approved, and by such approval necessarily encouraged, homosexual conduct. It was my further understanding that the two organizations at issue would foster among students a belief that the University approved and accepted homosexuality as merely an alternative way of life.
9. Based upon these understandings, I concluded that the University’s official recognition and endorsement of these organizations would be contrary to and in conflict with the traditional and consistent teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the question of human sexuality. Organizations such as those at issue, which are based on a view of human nature which emphasizes the sexual aspects of human nature as dominant to the exclusion of other values, and which encourage and foster homosexuality, are totally incompatible with teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on human sexuality, teachings which are central to the beliefs of Roman Catholics.
(R. 346) Affiant William C. Schuerman, Assistant Vice-President and Associate Dean for Student Affairs, provided a similar account:
... I concluded that endorsement of such an organization by the University through official recognition would be inconsistent with the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Such recognition would mean lending the University’s name to an organization which espoused the legitimacy and acceptability of the homosexual life-style, which necessarily includes homosexual conduct. An organization with such goals and objectives is in direct conflict with my understanding of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the issue of homosexuality.
(R. 540) These affidavits would have supported a finding that it was the groups’ activities promoting conduct antithetical to Catholic teachings on human sexuality that led Georgetown to deny recognition. Thus, because Judge Braman had before him conflicting facts concerning the central issue in the case, i.e., whether Georgetown had a discriminatory reason for denying recognition to GPGU and GRC, see D.G.Code § 1-2520(1) (1987), Judge Braman erred in granting summary judgment to appellants on the statutory question. See, e.g., Reliance Ins. Co. v. Market Motors, Inc., 498 A.2d 571, 573-74 (D.C.1985); Word v. Ham, 495 A.2d 748, 751-52 (D.C.1985) (per curiam).
Before completing this discussion of the grant of summary judgment, I acknowledge the possibility that Judge Braman disagreed with a basic premise of my last conclusion, and granted summary judgment to appellants on the mistaken theory that the reasons proffered by Georgetown were themselves discriminatory within the meaning of the Human Rights Act. Because the order granting summary judgment was terse, I turn to the colloquy between court and counsel for an indication of whether this was the court’s approach. (R. 857) Although the record is not entire*65ly clear, Judge Braman appears to have interpreted those provisions of the Human Rights Act that prohibit educational institutions from discriminating against any person on the basis of sexual orientation as prohibiting discrimination against individuals and groups that promote homosexuality regardless of the sexual preference or practice of the individuals or the members of the groups. (R. 867, 887) Under that construction of the Human Rights Act, a private actor like Georgetown would be prohibited from treating the promotion of ideas or activities with which it disagreed differently from the promotion of ideas or activities with which it agreed. Presumably, such a private actor would also be prohibited from treating a person or group that promoted ideas or activities with which it disagreed differently from a person or group that promoted ideas or activities with which it agreed.
The Human Rights Act, by its plain language, does not prohibit discrimination against persons or groups based upon their advocacy. Rather, it prohibits discrimination against persons based upon their “sexual orientation” which, in the words of the statute, “means male or female homosexuality, heterosexuality and bisexuality, by preference or practice.” D.C.Code § 1-2502(28) (1987).4 It follows that Judge Braman erred if he granted summary judgment against Georgetown on the theory that it violated the Act by denying recognition because of the groups’ advocacy of homosexual life-styles.
As I discuss in Part II, below, a construction of the Act that would prohibit a private actor from differentiating among persons based on their advocacy of ideas would not only be untrue to the Act, it would also abridge the first amendment’s guarantees of free speech and, in this case, the free exercise of religion. Judge Mack interprets the Act to prohibit the public and private educational institutions covered by it from engaging in certain types of conduct but, in an attempt to avoid conflict with the first amendment, she construes the Act not to reach the speech activities of a private institution. Judge Mack’s opinion, ante at 21. Judge Mack concludes that the Act therefore does not require one private actor to “endorse” another. Id.
I would use a different analysis to determine whether Georgetown’s denial of recognition to the student groups falls outside the scope of the Human Rights Act. I interpret the Act to prohibit adverse action taken against persons on the basis of their status as members of a protected class. The Act does not purport to prohibit actions taken against persons because of their promotion of ideas or activities (here, for example, promotion of ideas and conduct antithetical to Catholic teachings). Thus, in my view, if an entity covered by the Act fails to grant facilities and services to an individual because of his or her status as a member of a protected group, the Act is violated. In contrast, if an entity covered by the Act fails to provide facilities and services to an individual because of his or her promotion of ideas or activities, that conduct does not violate the Act. Furthermore, as developed in Part II, below, a construction of the Act that would prevent a private actor from differentiating among others on the basis of the content of their speech would be unconstitutional, at least in the absence of a compelling state interest.5 Thus, a statutorily imposed requirement of neutrality toward the promotion of an idea, viz., the morality of homosexual life-styles, would abridge first amendment rights. Similarly, an imposed duty either *66to endorse or to subsidize a position on that issue would also abridge those rights.6
An analogy is illustrative. It could not seriously be suggested that the Human Rights Act could force a private, church-affiliated school to lend its endorsement or subsidy to a group that advocated or purposely facilitated fornication or adultery. Such a group, however, could argue that those activities reflect the group members’ heterosexual orientation, an orientation that triggers the Act’s protection to the same extent as does homosexual orientation. There can be no doubt that university authorities in such a case could recognize that the purposes and activities of an organization of this type would foster or promote acts that the Church deems immoral. While Catholic doctrine deems all homosexual acts immoral and only some heterosexual acts immoral, the principle is the same. Both this hypothetical group and the groups before us can properly be denied endorsement and subsidy by a religious institution because of their sponsorship and promotion of acts that the institution considers immoral, rather than on the basis of their members’ status as homosexuals, heterosexuals, or bisexuals. See Tr. 541 (Georgetown would not subsidize activities of student “playboy” club); Tr. 628-30 (Georgetown would not support group that distributes information about abortion clinics to students).
In its review of Judge Braman’s conclusion that the university violated the statute as a matter of law, Judge Mack’s opinion is grievously at odds with accepted precepts of summary judgment procedure in that it undertakes a review of the evidence and, in effect, finds as a matter of fact that the “homosexual status of group members entered into Georgetown’s assessment of the ‘purposes and activities’ of the student groups, albeit unconsciously.” Judge Mack’s opinion, ante at 57, 60-61. In reviewing grants of summary judgment, the appellate court reviews the record de novo, but has no more authority to make findings on disputed issues of fact than has the trial court. See Holland v. Hannan, 456 A.2d 807, 814-15 (D.C.1983). At the very least, Georgetown raised a disputed issue of fact with respect to whether it was withholding recognition of the student groups for a reason proscribed by the statute. See RAP, Inc. v. D.C. Comm’n on Human Rights, 485 A.2d 173, 177-78 (D.C.1984).
Normally, where a grant of summary judgment was erroneous because genuine issues exist as to material facts, we should remand for a trial of the disputed facts. Remand to determine whether Georgetown violated the Human Rights Act would be unnecessary here, however, if Judge Bacon’s findings upon the trial of the free exercise defense require the conclusion that Georgetown denied the groups recognition for reasons other than the sexual orientation of its members. The determination of this issue is not simple, principally because the trial judge, of course, structured her findings of fact and conclusions of law to deal with the free exercise issue rather than the statutory issue. It is particularly difficult to apply the statutory definition of sexual orientation of an individual, D.C.Code § 1-2502 (28) (1987), to findings made in the free exercise framework and concerning the university’s dealings with groups rather than individuals. The result is a degree of ambiguity and lack of focus that counsels against what would be, in effect, a summary judgment in favor of Georgetown. I reach this conclusion even though Judge Bacon made no explicit finding that Georgetown denied recognition because of the sexual orientation of any individuals, and even though I think that the better reading of Judge Bacon’s findings is that the primary, if not sole, reason for Georgetown’s denial of recognition was that the groups sponsored activities and promoted ideas antithetical to Catholic doctrine. But for the fact that Georgetown should prevail on appeal on *67the constitutional defenses I next address, the appropriate course under the circumstances would be to remand for findings of fact and conclusions of law addressed specifically to the statutory issues.7
II.
Even if there were a valid finding that Georgetown had violated the Human Rights Act, Georgetown should prevail in this litigation on the basis of its constitutional rights under the free speech and free exercise clauses of the first amendment. I discuss the constitutional issues here on the premise that Georgetown denied recognition to the student groups at least in large part because of the groups’ sponsorship and promotion of ideas and activities.8 Although it has not yet been determined by a factfinder whether sexual orientation entered at all into Georgetown’s motivation, it is clear from the record and from Judge Bacon’s findings that Georgetown’s concern over the groups’ advocacy and speech activities permeated its consideration of the question of whether to grant them recognition.9 Therefore, Georgetown’s right of *68free speech comes strongly into play.10 With respect to free exercise, Judge Bacon’s findings firmly established that Georgetown denied recognition “because recognition would be inconsistent with its duties as a Catholic institution.” (R. 1694)
Georgetown has a free speech defense based on its right not to endorse or subsidize the groups’ promotion of ideas and activities with which it disagrees.11 I agree with Judge Mack that Georgetown cannot constitutionally be required to endorse an organization with the views of which it disagrees.12 See Judge Mack’s opinion, ante at 20-26. I part ways with Judge Mack’s opinion, however, with respect to the constitutionality of requiring Georgetown to provide tangible benefits to the student groups.13 Any such forced subsidization of these groups will abridge Georgetown’s free speech and free exercise *69rights.14
Georgetown’s free speech defense is not dependent on its status as a Catholic institution. No private actor ordinarily can be compelled to subsidize speech with which it disagrees. The Supreme Court has recognized this principle in a long line of cases. Most recently, in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Commission, 475 U.S. 1, 106 S.Ct. 903, 89 L.Ed.2d 1 (1986) (plurality opinion), the Supreme Court addressed a first amendment challenge to a state regulatory ruling that required a public utility company to include in its billing envelopes flyers of a ratepayers’ organization. Id. at 106 S.Ct. at 905-06. The Court held that the government may not impose a content-based grant of access to private property absent a compelling state interest. Id. at 16-17, 106 S.Ct. at 912. Since the Court found no compelling interest, it held unconstitutional the requirement that the utility company, a private corporation, make its mailing services available to the ratepayer group. Id. at 19-20, 106 S.Ct. at 913.
Similarly, in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209, 97 S.Ct. 1782, 52 L.Ed.2d 261 (1977), the Supreme Court decided that a union shop could not use any portion of the service fees collected from non-member employees to contribute to political candidates or express political views unrelated to the union’s role as the exclusive collective bargaining agent for its members. Id. at 234, 235-36, 97 S.Ct. at 1799, 1799-1800. The Supreme Court held that first amendment principles “prohibit [the Detroit Board of Education] from requiring [a non-union employee] to contribute to the support of an ideological cause he may oppose as a condition of holding a job as a public school teacher.” Id. at 235, 97 S.Ct. at 1799; cf. Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241, 256, 94 S.Ct. 2831, 2839, 41 L.Ed.2d 730 (1974) (Florida’s right of reply statute interfered with newspaper’s first amendment rights by requiring it to print replies, that it otherwise would not print, to the newspaper’s editorials). Pacific Gas and Abood together make it clear that when the first amendment proscribes requiring a subsidy, it matters not whether the subsidy is in the form of services or money.15
The principle that a private individual cannot be forced either to endorse or to subsidize a view with which he or she disagrees is long-established first amendment doctrine. The Supreme Court unmistakably ruled out such endorsements in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 63 S.Ct. 1178, 87 L.Ed.2d 1628 (1943). In Barnette, the Court held that students could not be compelled to affirm their loyalty to the United States consistent with the dictates of the first amendment’s free speech clause. Id. at 642, 63 S.Ct. at 1187. The symbol involved, a salute to the flag of the United States, was held to be an utterance that could not be compelled, not because these students’ religious beliefs conflicted with the salute (although that was the basis for the students’ refusal to salute the flag), but because the government lacks the power to force any citizen to profess any belief *70or to engage in any ceremony of assent to one. Id. at 634-35, 63 S.Ct. at 1183; see also Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705, 714, 97 S.Ct. 1428, 1435, 51 L.Ed.2d 752 (1977) (“A system which secures the right to proselytize religious, political, and ideological causes must also guarantee the concomitant right to decline to foster such concepts”); Int’l Ass’n of Machinists v. Street, 367 U.S. 740, 791, 81 S.Ct. 1784, 1811, 6 L.Ed.2d 1141 (1961) (Black, J., dissenting) (“[T]he First Amendment, fairly construed, deprives the Government of all power to make any person pay out one single penny against his will to be used in any way to advocate doctrines or views he is against, whether economic, scientific, political, religious or any other”).
Although Judge Mack’s opinion discusses many of the Supreme Court cases that hold that the government cannot compel a private institution to support speech with which it disagrees, the opinion backs away from the implications of this line of authority as it relates to the case at hand. It is clear that, for the same reason the Detroit Board of Education or the California Public Utilities Commission cannot constitutionally compel private citizens or corporations to fund the dissemination of views they oppose, the District of Columbia Council cannot require a private university, such as Georgetown, to subsidize the speech of student groups whose speech is contrary to the university’s religious creed.
Judge Ferren’s opinion falters over the same issue, but for a different reason. It first takes the view that the activities of the homosexual student groups here are the analogue of the matters relating to collective bargaining discussed in Abood. It goes on to argue that public policy has placed a comparable premium on both collective bargaining and non-discriminatory treatment. This, I submit, is not the relevant comparison. Rather, it is relevant to compare collective bargaining, the means of settling labor-management disputes long preferred in the nation’s laws and policies, with the advocacy of a homosexual lifestyle. Collective bargaining is a broad process that a worker can be required to support even though the worker may have a moral objection to one aspect of the union’s multifaceted bargaining position, e.g., medical benefits covering abortions. To be required to support such a process differs from being required to support a group whose organizing principle is the advocacy of a homosexual life-style incompatible with one’s religious beliefs. It would be, at the least, far-fetched to argue that such advocacy enjoys a status or plays a role remotely comparable to that of collective bargaining in the affairs of our city or nation. Rather, it is obvious that the student groups’ activities are more analogous to the promotion of political views to which, under Abood, workers cannot be forced to contribute.
The Supreme Court's decision in PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74, 85-88, 100 S.Ct. 2035, 2042-44, 64 L.Ed. 2d 741 (1980), does not suggest that Georgetown can be forced to subsidize the speech of student groups whose speech is" at odds with religious tenets to which the university subscribes. In PruneYard, the Supreme Court upheld a California state constitutional provision construed to require a privately-owned shopping center to permit individuals to distribute pamphlets and collect signatures for a petition on the shopping center grounds. Id. at 76-77, 88, 100 S.Ct. at 2038, 2044. The Court rejected the argument of the shopping center owner that he had “a First Amendment right not to be forced by the State to use his property as a forum for the speech of others.” Id. at 85, 100 S.Ct. at 2043.
The burden on Georgetown, if it is required to endorse and subsidize the speech of the student groups, is substantially greater than that on the shopping center owner in PruneYard. Several significant differences in their relative burdens arise directly from the fact that Georgetown is a religiously-affiliated university. First, since shopping centers do not normally endorse particular views, it is unlikely that any endorsement of the diverse views of the persons distributing pamphlets would be attributed to the shopping center owner. An apprehension on the part of Georgetown, as a university affiliated with the *71Catholic Church, that the subsidy of the groups would be viewed as an endorsement is not unrealistic. See footnote 9, supra. Second, in PruneYard the state did not dictate a particular message to be displayed in the shopping center. See id. at 87,100 S.Ct. at 2044. In contrast, as Judge Mack’s opinion construes the statute, the Human Rights Act requires Georgetown to provide facilities and services to support a particular message, viz., the morality of a homosexual life-style. Third, Georgetown cannot as easily disavow a connection with the multifaceted activities of student groups it would be required to subsidize as the PruneYard shopping center could by posting signs in the areas where the pamphleteers were standing. See id. As a university, Georgetown is more than just bricks and mortar; it has a presence beyond its physical confines, and must be concerned with its relationship with several categories of persons who are not physically present at its campus, e.g., potential students and potential benefactors. Fourth, the shopping center owner in PruneYard did not allege that he objected to the content of the pamphlets. Here, Georgetown specifically objects to the content of the student groups’ speech on moral and religious grounds. See Pacific Gas, supra, 475 U.S. at 12, 106 S.Ct. at 910 (distinguishing PruneYard, which “does not undercut the proposition that forced associations that burden protected speech are impermissible”) (footnote omitted). Finally, the shopping center was not being required to grant official recognition or affirmatively to subsidize the pamphleteers; rather, it was merely being required to permit their activity on the property, something Georgetown has already volunteered by its tolerating the results of student government endorsement of the groups. Thus, the burden on Georgetown of being required to endorse and subsidize the advocacy of a particular view with which it disagrees is much heavier than that on the PruneYard shopping center.
In addition to its free speech rights, Georgetown’s free exercise rights would also be infringed if it were required to subsidize ideas or activities that are contrary to Catholic doctrine. This defense applies with full force not only to the speech-related activity of the groups, but also to all other activities of the groups that are antithetical to Catholic doctrine. It was to this defense that Judge Bacon directed her findings of fact and conclusions of law, and they fully support her ruling in favor of Georgetown.
The leading Supreme Court case invoking this principle is United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252, 102 S.Ct. 1051, 71 L.Ed.2d 127 (1982), in which a member of the Amish faith contended that the payment of social security taxes would violate his religious beliefs. The Supreme Court accepted Lee’s interpretation of his own Amish religious tenets, and accordingly acknowledged that compulsory participation in the social security system interfered with the free exercise rights of the Amish. Id. at 257, 102 S.Ct. at 1055. The Court held, however, that given the government’s strong interest in ensuring the fiscal vitality of the social security system, the burden imposed on those Amish who employ others (as opposed to the self-employed Amish, who are exempt from participation in the social security system) is not unconstitutional. Id. at 258-59, 261, 102 S.Ct. at 1055-56, 1057; cf. Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 221, 234, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 1536, 1542, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972) (state’s interest in its system of compulsory education did not override right of Amish to educate their children at home).
It has long been part of this country’s first amendment jurisprudence that an individual cannot be compelled to fund the dissemination of religious views of others. James Madison, a drafter of the first amendment, wrote: “Who does not see ... [t]hat the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his property for the support of any one establishment, may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever?” J. Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, reprinted in Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 app. at 65-66, 67 S.Ct. 504 app. at 535, 91 L.Ed. 711 (1947). Thom*72as Jefferson expressed his agreement when he drafted the Virginia Bill for Religious Liberty, which stated in its preamble that “to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical.” 12 Hening, Statutes of Virginia 84 (1823), quoted in Everson, supra, 330 U.S. at 13, 67 S.Ct. at 510.
Since Georgetown is a private, Catholic-affiliated institution and since the promotion of homosexuality is incompatible with Catholic doctrine, it would infringe Georgetown’s right to the free exercise of religion if it were required to subsidize student groups that foster and promote a homosexual life-style. Georgetown’s interest in not being compelled to subsidize activities antithetical to Catholicism must be given great weight under our Constitution. See Barnette, supra, 319 U.S. at 633, 642, 646, 63 S.Ct. at 1187, 1189 (Murphy, J., concurring).
It can be argued that Georgetown’s free speech and free exercise defenses are absolute and not subject to balancing with any countervailing state interests. See Tornillo, supra, 418 U.S. at 256, 94 S.Ct. at 2839 (statute compelling newspapers to print replies to editorials is unconstitutional; no balancing test used); see also Barnette, supra, 319 U.S. at 642, 63 S.Ct. at 1187 (grave and immediate danger necessary before first amendment freedoms may be infringed). Because other Supreme Court precedents apply balancing tests to determine whether a first amendment burden is unconstitutional, however, I will proceed to such a balancing here as well. Under this approach, a violation of Georgetown’s free speech and free exercise rights would be justified only if it is essential to accomplish an overriding governmental interest. Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Comm’n, — U.S. -, 107 S.Ct. 1046, 1049, 94 L.Ed.2d 190 (1987); Lee, supra, 455 U.S. at 257-58, 102 S.Ct. at 1055; Thomas v. Review Bd., 450 U.S. 707, 718, 101 S.Ct. at 1432 (1981).
In evaluating the District of Columbia’s governmental interest in eradicating discrimination based on sexual orientation, it is appropriate to give great weight to the judgment of the District of Columbia Council. The Council identified and proscribed a number of bases for discrimination. The Human Rights Act forbids an educational institution from discriminating
based upon the race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, source of income or physical handicap of any individual....
D.C.Code § 1-2520 (1987). While neither the statutory language nor its legislative history indicates whether the Council intended to assign any hierarchy to the several proscribed bases for discrimination, it is reasonable to postulate that it did not intend them to be equal. One must doubt, for example, that the eradication of discrimination based upon source of income or personal appearance was meant to be as compelling an interest as the eradication of discrimination based upon race.
In any event, it cannot be said that the goal of eliminating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, as undesirable as such discrimination may be, has attained the same high priority as public policy, in the District of Columbia or nationally, as has the goal of eliminating racial discrimination. This difference of emphasis is manifested in many ways. One is the equal protection clause jurisprudence of the United States Supreme Court. Under it, for example, a racial classification leading to different treatment has been identified as one that demands strict scrutiny— but no such scrutiny has been demanded of sexual orientation discrimination. See Padula v. Webster, 261 U.S.App.D.C. 365, 822 F.2d 97 (1987) (homosexuals not a suspect or quasi-suspect class for equal protection purposes); 2 R. Rotunda, J. Nowak & J. Young, Treatise on Constitutional Law; Substance and Procedure, § 18.3, at 325 (1986) (suspect classifications under equal protection analysis include race, national origin, and alienage). The very statistics cited in Judge Mack’s opinion, which indicate that only one state and the District of Columbia have adopted legislation of the *73type being interpreted here, make the same point. Judge Mack’s opinion at 69 n. 24.
Needless to say, the act of a state legislature, or of the District of Columbia Council, in identifying a governmental interest and adopting legislation to serve it, cannot, of itself, establish that the interest is so compelling as to override competing constitutional rights.16 Nor can such an enactment, of its own force, give each identified interest the same stature as the goal of eliminating racial discrimination. In the end, the judiciary must complete the task of determining whether a particular governmental policy is sufficiently compelling to override a claimed constitutional right. See, e.g., Bd. of Dir. of Rotary Int’l v. Rotary Club of Duarte, — U.S.-, 107 S.Ct. 1940, 1947, 95 L.Ed.2d 474 (1987) (state’s interest in eliminating discrimination against women compelling despite slight infringement on expressive association right of service club members); Roberts v. United States Jaycees, 468 U.S. 609, 624, 104 S.Ct. 3244, 3253, 82 L.Ed.2d 462 (1984) (same); Thomas, supra, 450 U.S. at 709, _ 718-19, 107 S.Ct. at 1427, 1432 (Indiana’s interest in fiscal soundness of unemployment compensation scheme not sufficiently compelling to justify denying unemployment compensation to Jehovah’s Witness who left job to avoid participation in manufacture of military tanks); Yoder, supra, 406 U.S. at 221, 233-34, 92 S.Ct. at 1536, 1542 (state’s interest in compulsory education system not sufficiently compelling to justify infringement of free exercise rights of Amish). In doing so here, the court must accord substantial weight to the Council’s determination of the importance of the governmental interest in eliminating discrimination based upon sexual orientation.
Weighing the District of Columbia’s interest in eradicating sexual orientation discrimination, I observe too that not every application of that interest is equally compelling. Indeed, in deciding what weight to assign to that interest, the most pertinent question is not simply whether the District’s interest in proscribing sexual orientation discrimination is, in the abstract, compelling. Rather, it is how important this application of the Human Rights Act is to the accomplishment of that interest. Cf United States v. Robel, 389 U.S. 258, 263, 88 S.Ct. 419, 423, 19 L.Ed.2d 508 (1967) (“the phrase ‘war power’ cannot be invoked as a talismanie incantation to support any exercise of congressional power which can be brought within its ambit”). Therefore, in weighing the competing interests involved, one can consider that in addition to endorsement petitioners are seeking only the tangible benefits of a mailbox, mailing services, and computer labeling services, and also the right to apply for university funds. This case does not involve denial of fundamental aspects of higher education such as admission to the university, course selection, or use by a student of the physical facilities of the university.17 Nor does it involve such deprivations as discriminatory discharge from employment or exclusion from a place of public accommodation based on sexual orientation, the elimination of which may well be compelling.18 In*74deed, Georgetown permits these student organizations to conduct their activities without hinderance, merely requiring that they do so without university subsidization or endorsement. On this point, Judge Bacon found that “the interests of Georgetown students in gay issues and their needs can be served without ‘university recognition’ of the plaintiff organizations.” (R. 1693) She noted specifically that “[without ‘university recognition,’ clubs may be formed, meetings may be held on campus and application may be made for lecture funds.” Id.
On the other side of the balance, Georgetown is claiming constitutional rather than statutory rights, and they are the fundamental rights of freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion. Moreover, the burden on Georgetown would be direct compulsion, i.e., an injunction ordering the university to violate its religious beliefs.19 Therefore, upon considering the constitutional issues and balancing the opposing interests, I would find the District’s interest in preventing the asserted sexual orientation discrimination regarding endorsement and limited tangible benefits is outweighed by Georgetown’s interest in not endorsing and subsidizing activities and an ideological message repugnant to its religious creed. This is the conclusion Judge Bacon reached upon weighing Georgetown’s free exercise rights against the statutory right of petitioners to receive the benefits in question. That decision is supported by the record and by the applicable case law.
In sum, the facts of this case did not justify the entry of summary judgment that Georgetown had violated the Human Rights Act with respect to homosexual students at Georgetown. Instead, this case represents an attempt by the appellant groups to use the coercive power of the government to compel a private university to endorse and subsidize their cause, the fostering and promotion of homosexual life-styles, a cause which Georgetown University has found incompatible with the Catholic doctrine to which it adheres. Since I believe that the best way to protect the legal rights of homosexuals is to protect the constitutional rights of all persons, including those institutions and individuals who, for religious reasons, disapprove of homosexual practices, I would affirm.

. D.C.Code §§ 1-2501 to -2557 (1987).

. In his opinion, fudge Ferren has included numerous reformulations of my positions on various issues. Many I cannot accept. It would lengthen this opinion unduly to address all of them. It should suffice to say that my positions are as stated in this opinion. One recurrent theme, however, merits brief mention. With respect to the reach of the Human Rights Act, Judge Ferren’s opinion repeatedly blurs the distinction I draw between (1) taking an action, such as the denial of recognition, because of the content of one’s speech or advocacy, and (2) blocking another’s speech or advocacy, because of some other, possibly impermissible, reason. See opinion of Judge Ferren, ante at 47-48, 55, 56. My position is that the Act does not reach the former, but may reach the latter.

. With respect to Judge Ferren's reference to the use of the university’s name by the student groups, ante, p. 47 at n. 1, I point out that this issue is not before us. I also point out, however, that the use of the university’s name would appear to be an assertion of the endorsement denied the groups by this court’s ruling.

. Judge Mack’s opinion reaches no conclusion as to whether the Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination against persons or groups that advocate homosexuality. It instead finds that Georgetown in fact took homosexual orientation into account in deciding to deny recognition. Judge Mack’s opinion, ante at 27-29.

. For the same reason that the Human Rights Act cannot require Georgetown to endorse or subsidize the student groups, i.e., that such an interpretation of the Act would be inconsistent with the dictates of the first amendment, the so-called "effects” clause of the Act, D.C.Code § 1-2532 (1987), cannot be interpreted to proscribe Georgetown’s conduct here. Section 2532 should not be interpreted to prohibit constitutionally protected conduct even though such conduct may have an adverse impact on a protected group.

. I point out that, as I view the record, this appeal does not present the issues of statutory construction and constitutional law that would arise if a private actor treated another adversely merely because of the latter’s personal ideas, values, or beliefs. This case involves a private actor, Georgetown, that asserts that it treats the appellant groups differently because of their promotion of ideas and conduct antithetical to the religious views adhered to by Georgetown.

. Judge Ferren’s opinion, ante at 55-56 would try to stretch Judge Bacon’s findings to cover the statutory issue, but the coat does not fit. As I pointed out, Judge Bacon made no finding that Georgetown denied recognition because of the "sexual orientation of any individuals,” which is what the statute proscribes. Judge Fer-ren relies upon Judge Bacon’s finding that Georgetown’s leadership concluded that "the gay student organizations ... were participating in and promoting homosexual life styles" (emphasis added), a part of her findings I quote more fully in footnote 9 below. But that does not satisfy the statute. Organizations, obviously, do not engage in sexual ”practice[s],’’ the word contained in the statutory definition of “sexual orientation” that Judge Ferren emphasizes. See D.C.Code § 1-2502(28) (1987). They have no "sexual orientation" within the meaning of the statute. Moreover, it is plainly the thrust of Judge Bacon’s findings that Georgetown’s concern was with the organizational actions of the groups.

. We need not reach the issue of how the Act should be applied if there was evidence that Georgetown had more than one motive for denial of recognition, and one such motive was proscribed by the Act.

. Judge Bacon's findings of fact and conclusions of law are at R. 1687-1698. Among her findings of fact are the following:
10.In applying these teachings [those of the Catholic Church], the President of Georgetown University, the Dean of the Law Center, and defendants’ expert witness, concluded inter alia that:
a. The gay student organizations, as evidenced by their charters and their activities, were participating in and promoting homosexual life styles. PLEx. 21 and 25, Def.Ex. 70-82, 88, 90, 91, and Tr. 85-86, 145-146, 385 and 393.
b. Recognition of the student organizations would be inconsistent with Church normative teachings and with the basic obligation not to undermine the normative teachings of the Church. Testimony of Father McCormick, Tr. at 280; Testimony of Dean McCarthy, Tr. at 474; Testimony of Father Healy, Tr. at 605. 11.There was no evidence that the beliefs on which the University acted were bizarre, without foundation, or otherwise not entitled to recognition as sincerely-held religious beliefs. ...
Judge Bacon also found that "[t]he major purpose of ‘university recognition’ is official endorsement, an endorsement which the University believes will conflict with the normative findings of the Church on homosexuality.” (Footnote omitted). (R. 1693). Judge Bacon’s findings are amply supported by the record. See, e.g., Letter from President T. Healy, S.J., to Dean D. McCarthy (May 8, 1980) [Pl.Ex. 24]; Memorandum from Dean W. Schuerman to P. Cleary, President of Undergraduate Student Government (Feb. 6, 1979) [PI.Ex. 28]; Memorandum from Dean W. Schuerman to S. Ozmun (Nov. 21, 1979) [Pl.Ex. 33]; Letter from Dean W. Schuerman to J. Ryan (Feb. 21, 1980) [Pl.Ex. 36]; Letter from Dean W. Stott, Jr., to J. Ryan and S. Riel, GPGU (March 5, 1979). In her findings of fact, Judge Bacon quoted from Georgetown’s correspondence with the student groups in which it advised them of Georgetown’s reasons for denying them "university recognition” as follows:
Georgetown University is a private university with a history and tradition which is specifically Catholic. University administrators must make decisions in light of the conscience and value system identified with this tradition. The University, in terms of this responsibility, cannot concur with an argument that official "recognition" would not imply endorsement.
******
This situation involves a controversial and complex matter of faith and the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. "Official” subsidy and support of a gay law student organization would be interpreted by many as endorsement of the positions taken by the gay movement on a full range of issues. While the University and its Law Center cherish the individual lives and rights of its students, they *68cannot allow this deep respect for individual rights to become an inappropriate institutional endorsement and subsidization of a group cause involving controversial matters of faith and the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.
******
The fact that the University has chosen not to grant endorsement to the “Gay People of Georgetown" as a University approved student activity, does not demonstrate a lack of concern, a lack of sympathy for the gay student in particular, or students in general. It simply means that after the facts have been considered and discussion has taken place, there remains a point of disagreement as to whether endorsement of the "Gay Students of Georgetown” as a student activity is appropriate for a Catholic University. The University’s decision, therefore, is not a reflection on or a judgment of the personal choices of its individual members, but rather represents a judgment of what is appropriate for Georgetown as an institution.
(R. 1690 [1643] — 91)

.While the free speech defense would be diluted to the extent, if any, that Judge Bacon’s findings can be read to imply that Georgetown acted on the basis of the sexual orientation of individuals, such a reading would not affect Georgetown’s free exercise defense. As quoted in footnote 9, supra, Judge Bacon found that the beliefs on which Georgetown acted were entitled to recognition as sincerely held religious beliefs. Accordingly, Georgetown was entitled to assert fully a free exercise defense to any alleged violation of the Act which sprung from its acting upon those religious beliefs. I point out that although the first amendment itself contains several guarantees against intrusive governmental conduct, one’s ability to invoke any single one of these guarantees is not contingent upon one’s ability to invoke all other first amendment guarantees. See, e.g., Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, 430, 82 S.Ct. 1261, 1266, 8 L.Ed.2d 601 (1962) (although the first amendment’s free exercise clause and establishment clause "may in some instances overlap, they forbid two quite different kinds of governmental encroachment upon religious freedom''). Thus, while the first amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of religion are in harmony, each has a reach of its own. A freedom of religion defense to intrusive governmental conduct is in no way dependent on assertion of a free speech defense. A litigant can assert the former without reference to the latter. See, e.g., United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252, 102 S.Ct. 1051, 71 L.Ed.2d 127 (1982); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972).

. In the trial court and here, Georgetown has placed principal reliance on its free exercise defense. It relied in part on precedents, however, in the free speech area, and Judge Mack, correctly I think, decided to take into consideration free speech principles in analyzing the issues.

. In arguing his disagreement with Judge Mack’s conclusion that recognition amounts to endorsement, Judge Ferren develops his position that recognition actually signifies tolerance. Ante at 51-52, 53-54, 57, and 58-59. In my view, his analysis gives insufficient weight to the undisputed fact that Georgetown has tolerated fully the activities of the student groups in the market place of ideas that is a university. (I use the word "tolerate” here in its primary sense: “to not interfere with; allow; permit [to tolerate heresy]," Webster’s New World Dictionary 1495 (2d ed. 1982), rather than its secondary meaning; "to recognize and respect (others’ beliefs, practices, etc.) without sharing them_” Id.) Without raising the issue of whether it can be required to do so, Georgetown has permitted the student government to grant status to the gay groups, and has thereby allowed these groups to function and to speak on campus. What Georgetown has declined to do is to endorse or subsidize them.

. Judge Ferren describes as "separate but equal” the access to facilities afforded by Judge Mack’s approach, under which Georgetown would have to provide tangible benefits to the student groups but would not grant them official endorsement. Judge Ferren's opinion, ante at 49. I point out, however, that under Judge Mack’s approach, GPGU and GRC would be "separate” from other student groups at Georgetown only in that Georgetown, a private university, has refused to endorse the views they espouse.

. Although Georgetown does not argue specifically that providing tangible benefits to the student groups would amount to a forced subsidy of speech to which it is opposed, I find it appropriate to reach this issue for three reasons. First, it is squarely presented by the facts of this case. In fact, one of the reasons Georgetown gave at the time it denied recognition to GPGU and GRC was that it found it inappropriate for a Catholic institution to give financial support to the activities of these groups. Def.Ex. 97, 102. Second, it has been forcefully argued by amicus curiae Arthur B. Spitzer, Esq., and has been addressed in appellants' briefs. Third, as Judge Mack notes, "[a]t no stage of this litigation have the parties requested that the ‘endorsement’ and the tangible benefits be treated separately. The case has been litigated throughout on an ‘all or nothing1 basis.” Judge Mack’s opinion at 20 n. 16. It was not until Judge Mack’s analysis split ‘‘University Recognition” into the two components of endorsement and "facilities and services” that subsidization became a separate issue from that of endorsement of the student groups’ views. Previously, the provision of facilities and services was included under the rubric of “university recognition.”

. It is interesting to note that the specific tangible benefits the student groups seek, a mailbox, mailing services, and computer labeling services, are resources that would directly increase their capability for disseminating their ideas.

. The Council, of course, did not discuss or weigh the competing concerns at issue in this case. Indeed, in adopting D.C.Code § 1-2520 (1987), the Council made no express finding that the elimination of discrimination by educational institutions based on personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, or any of the other factors enumerated there was a compelling state interest.

. It is significant that GPGU and GRC acknowledged in their statement of undisputed facts in support of their motions for summary judgment that all Georgetown students (including homosexuals and bisexuals) are permitted to "(a) receive a degree, (b) participate in student activities, (c) attend classes, (d) participate in loan programs, (e) participate in athletic programs, (f) participate in awards and honors programs, [and] (g) use the placement service.” (R. 909) No students, as individuals, have been denied any university facility or service by reason of sexual orientation.

.It is impossible to decide, in a vacuum, whether eradication of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation could be, in other circumstances, a compelling state interest. I merely conclude that the student groups’ claim to the endorsement, facilities, and services at issue here is inadequate to create a sufficiently compelling interest to override Georgetown’s constitutional rights.

. Although the record bears out Judge Newman’s observation that discrimination against homosexuals is not a tenet of the Catholic faith, ante at 45, I disagree with his conclusion that providing facilities and services to the student groups is, therefore, only an indirect burden on Georgetown's free exercise of religion. Forcing Georgetown to subsidize the dissemination of a doctrine of sexual ethics deemed immoral by the Catholic Church is a direct burden on its free exercise rights. In this respect, this case differs from Bob Jones University v. United States, 461 U.S. 574, 103 S.Ct. 2017, 76 L.Ed.2d 157 (1983). There the burden on that university’s free exercise of religion from the denial of its tax-exempt status was much lighter than the burden that would be imposed here. The Supreme Court said in Bob Jones that although ”[d]enial of tax benefits will inevitably have a substantial impact on the operation of private religious schools, [it] will not prevent those schools from observing their religious tenets." Id. at 603-04, 103 S.Ct. at 2035. In contrast, the burden on Georgetown would constitute direct compulsion to violate its religious tenets by subsidizing a group whose purposes are antithetical to Catholicism. Furthermore, Bob Jones University ran afoul of the public policy against racial discrimination, which has constitutional underpinnings, see id. at 593, 103 S.Ct. at 2029, while the "state” interest at issue here is the enforcement of a statutory provision.