Atheist Twins May Soar to Eagles

A set of Anaheim twins, who for the last six years have refused to take the Boy Scouts’ oath of allegiance to God, cannot be barred from seeking Scouting’s highest honor, according to a decision by the state Supreme Court.

The high-court justices rejected a request by Scouts officials to temporarily block any efforts by 16-year-old Michael and William Randall to become Eagle Scouts.

The court’s ruling means that the twins could complete the Scouting program and receive its highest rank without taking the oath.

A spokesman for the local chapter said the group’s leaders were disappointed with the decision.

“We’ll continue to seek a decision affirming our First Amendment right to teach Scouts a duty to God and other important values needed for kids in today’s society,” said Devon Dougherty, a spokesman for the group’s Orange County Council in Costa Mesa.

The twins’ father, James G. Randall said his sons were “absolutely thrilled” by the ruling.

“I don’t know of two better boys who deserve the Eagle Scout badge,” he said. “Their honesty and courage signify what good Eagle Scouts should be . . . “

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The teenagers have already applied to become Eagle Scouts, Randall said. To qualify for the honor, Michael recently completed his public-service project, painting the facade of a Tustin school. His twin brother landscaped the school’s grounds, according to the father.

The court’s ruling represented another victory for the Randalls who, according to their father, “want to be Eagle Scouts so bad they can taste it.”

Scouting officials asked the California Supreme Court six weeks ago to modify a lower-court order commanding them to advance the twins up through Scouting’s ranks without requiring them to “promise to do their duty to God.”

The group’s leaders hoped to delay any bid by the brothers to become Eagle Scouts until the high court has issued its opinion in the long-running dispute between the twins and the Boy Scouts of America.

The legal battle has received nationwide attention, triggering widespread debate about religion’s role in time-honored Scouting activities.

The case began in 1991, when the twins, then 9, and their attorney father, James G. Randall, successfully argued in court that their First Amendment rights were violated when they were ousted from the Scouts for refusing to swear an oath to God.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard O. Frazee Sr. ruled that the boys could remain in the Scouts, a decision later upheld 2 to 1 by the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana.

The appellate court justices held that the Scouts are a business and California’s Unruh Act forbids discrimination by business establishments.

Scouting officials have long contended that it is their constitutional right to freedom of association that was being denied. Allowing atheists in the Scouts would undermine the founding principles of the organization, the scouts contended.

The Supreme Court left in place an injunction barring the group from cutting the Randall twins from the membership roster when justices voted to review the case in 1994. The court’s ruling gave no indication about when the high-court justices intend to publish their ruling in the Scouts’ appeal. The case is among the oldest on the court’s docket.