Kiwanis Must Admit Women, N.J. Judge Says
A federal judge ruled today that Kiwanis International’s male-only membership rules are illegal and ordered the service club not to punish a New Jersey affiliate for admitting a woman member.
“A membership sign of ‘Men Only’ can be as offensive and repugnant as the sign ‘Whites Only,’ ” U.S. District Judge H. Lee Sarokin said in a 39-page opinion.
The judge’s decision, based on New Jersey law and applicable only within the state, came in a case involving a Bergen County Kiwanis chapter and Julie Fletcher, 45, who joined the chapter in June, 1984.
Male members of Fletcher’s chapter have supported her, but the organization learned last April that Fletcher had joined and filed a trademark infringement suit Sept. 3.
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