CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The state Supreme Court says the Elks Lodge in Franklin discriminated against five women who tried to join in 1997. Instead of an apology, the lodge now has to pay a fine.

The court ruled that although the lodge is a private organization, its membership is not exclusive enough to exempt it from anti-discrimination laws.

The women all were members of the Franklin Emblem Club, an organization for wives of Elks members. The group supported Elks activities.

Four of the five women took their case to the state Human Rights Commission and won. The lodge then appealed to the courts.

“I just think it sends a message to the Elks that they should take care of their own,” Sally Marcoux, one of the women, said.

The women said they wished the lodge had just admitted its mistake earlier. Originally, they said they asked for an apology, membership and a $1 settlement. Instead, the lodge now has to pay thousands in fines and court fees.

Emblem Club members put in long hours volunteering at pig roasts, spaghetti suppers and other events.

The women were rejected at a meeting where five men were accepted as members.

The lodge argued it was exempt from anti-discrimination laws because it was a private club.

It did not deny it had rejected the women because of their gender.

But the court ruled the Elks were not selective enough to be considered a distinctly private organization.

Virtually all men who apply and satisfy minimum requirements are accepted, the court wrote.

The Franklin women who sued have not decided if they will try again to join the lodge.

AP-ES-06-14-03 1453EDT

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