Liberal Law Professors Unite
Tomorrow, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case testing the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment. The Solomon Amendment, among other things, requires universities to open their doors to military recruiters in order to receive federal funding. Many law professors have banned together, led by the many liberal Yale Law University professors, challenging the Solomon Amendment because they feel oppressed by the military’s presence. Why? Because of the miltary policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Rather than stand on their principle (and refuse federal money), the law professors would rather eat their cake and have it too. Professor Peter Berkowitz comments:
[N]obody is holding a gun to anybody’s head, requiring universities to accept federal funds for academic work. If the law professors could persuade their deans and university presidents — to say nothing of themselves — to do without federal funding, then, notwithstanding the war and the needs of the nation’s military, the law professors could, under the Solomon Amendment, keep military recruiters off campus. Trouble is, the law professors want their principle and to pay no price for standing by it.
During law school at Ohio State (where I attended), a letter was circulated each year (signed by almost every law professor) crying foul about military recruitment and how they despised the military recruiters because they discriminated against gays and lesbians. Then, when a military recruiter came to school, a huge disclaimer was placed beneath the recruitment notice stating in unequivocating terms that the military violated the law school’s non-discrimination policy. I’m sure it felt good for the law professors to bash the military and soothe their delicate egos. The Solomon Amendment case (Rumsfield v. FAIR) is an extension of the law professoriat’s unfettered disgust.
I hope law professors smarmy action against the military fails and Justice Scalia blasts them in a heavy-handed majority opinion for their disrespect of the law and our military.