Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. military recruiters, seeking full access to law schools that protest the armed forces' policy on gays and lesbians, received support in their legal fight from most Supreme Court justices.

During a one-hour argument session in Washington, the Bush administration said it has the power to withhold millions of dollars in aid unless universities give military recruiters the same access to students as other prospective employers. An attorney for the law schools argued they have a free-speech right to refuse to help employers who discriminate.

``You're perfectly free to do that if you don't take the money'' from the government, Chief Justice John Roberts told the law schools' attorney.

The government provides almost $35 billion a year to universities, according to the American Association of University Professors. At issue is a federal law known as the Solomon Amendment that requires universities to give military recruiters equal access to campuses or lose those funds. The high court is expected to rule by July.

The law schools oppose the government's ``don't ask, don't tell'' ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. The schools are seeking the right to allow military recruiters on campus without giving them active help, such as distributing their literature or arranging interviews with students.

`Squelch' Schools' Message

The government is trying to ``squelch'' the schools' message that they won't assist employers who discriminate, said attorney E. Joshua Rosenkranz, representing the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, a group of 36 law schools that challenged the law.

O'Connor and Justice Anthony Kennedy said the law schools could get their message out by providing equal access to military recruiters and posting a disclaimer that the schools oppose discrimination by employers.

``They can say that to every student who enters the room,'' O'Connor said.

Rosenkranz responded that students might say they don't believe the law school because it is helping the recruiters.

``The reason they don't believe you is you're willing to take the money,'' Roberts said.

Kennedy said the law schools' argument would allow them to ``exclude everybody in a military uniform from a cafeteria.''

Justice David Souter spoke up in favor of the law schools.

``You are forcing them in effect to underwrite your speech,'' he told U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement. ``You are forcing them to change their own message.''

Recruiting Struggles

The administration is pressing the Supreme Court to resolve the matter at a time when the U.S. is struggling to maintain overall recruiting to wage war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

``We need access that is equal in character and scope to that which is provided to any other employer,'' Clement told the justices.

Justice Antonin Scalia was among several justices who said the military was seeking more than that, because law schools still bar all access to other employers who won't hire gays and lesbians.

Even so, Scalia said courts usually defer to the government's judgments about how to ``raise and support armies.'' He also asked whether law schools could refuse equal access to military recruiters because of the schools' opposition to a war.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested that, while law schools were ``teaching equality'' by deciding not to aid discrimination, their position might have the opposite effect. She said civil-rights law also allows withholding of federal funds from schools that discriminate on the basis of race or gender.

`Worst Segregationists'

Allowing law schools to deny equal access to the military may let ``all the worst segregationists you can imagine'' give unequal treatment to employers they disagree with, said Justice Stephen Breyer.

The Solomon Amendment remains in effect during the government's appeal of a ruling in the law schools' favor by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Philadelphia. As a result, Rosenkranz said in an interview, almost all law schools have been providing equal access to the military.

The Defense Department has listed New York Law School, Vermont Law School in South Royalton, Vermont, and William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, as being in violation of the Solomon Amendment, he said.

Law schools challenging the amendment include those at New York University; Stanford University in California, and Georgetown University in Washington. Some schools in the coalition chose not to identify themselves publicly to avoid retribution, Rosenkranz said.

The Solomon Amendment, as enacted in 1994, initially let universities limit the assistance they gave military recruiters. After the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, the armed forces began to demand greater access, and Congress in 2004 amended the law to put military recruiters on the same footing as other employers.

The case is Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, 04-1152.

To contact the reporter on this story: Laurie Asseo in Washington at lasseo1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 6, 2005 13:54 EST