
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 26, 1995                   TAG: 9504260102
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

VETERANS ENTITLED TO BAN GAY MARCHERS, COURT TOLD

Requiring a veterans' group to let homosexuals march in Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade infringes on free-speech rights, the Supreme Court was told Tuesday.

``A parade is inherently expressive,'' Chester Darling, a lawyer for the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, told the court.

But a lawyer for a Boston gay group argued that the veterans violated a state anti-discrimination law by barring the group from a public event solely because of sexual orientation.

Darling said the group was excluded because its message did not reflect the veterans' religious and social values.

The justices are expected to decide the case by late June.

- Associated Press

by CNB