What some have said:
"The center of the debate before the Supreme Court is the question of whether the Christian groups are suffering religious discrimination (as they say) or whether they are seeking special treatment (as Hastings says)." Conflicting Rights, Inside Higher Ed.
"This campus club is not discriminating only against gay people. Their rules, requiring adherence to a specific set of Christian principles, also discriminate against persons of other faiths - Jewish people, Muslims, Buddhists, and even athiests. Of the 40-some other clubs and organizations on this campus, none seek the “special right” to exclude other members of the student body. This kind of “special right” has no place on an American campus. Education is about promoting the free exchange of ideas." Storm Christopher, GetReligion Blog comment, December 8, 2009.
The real issue:
CLS wants to form and gather around its core values like other groups are allowed to do. That's why universities set up these programs in the first place. Nondiscrimination rules make sense when they prohibit activity that is truly discriminatory - when they involve classifications that are invidious and irrelevant. Here they don't make sense.
If Hastings really had a broad “all comers” requirement for every student group, such a requirement would magnify their interference with associational freedom. Such a policy means that all student groups at Hastings have lost the right to choose their leaders and members. The Hastings Democratic Caucus cannot expel a member who tore down “Obama 2008” signs while shouting “Vote for McCain.” The Hastings Association of Muslim Law Students cannot remove a group president who drew a picture of Muhammed.
In fact, Hastings has recognized many groups whose constitutions provide that their officers and voting members should agree with their organizations’ missions and viewpoints.
While CLS is the only student group Hastings has derecognized, other religious student groups have faced similar threats of derecognition from other universities