First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport · ¶25

We have recognized, too, that associational rights carry special significance for political, social, religious, and other minorities. See id., at 462; Roberts, 468 U. S., at 622. With the freedom to associate, minorities can “show their numerical strength,” infuence policy, and “stimulate competition” in the marketplace of ideas. 1 A. de Tocqueville, Democracy in America 196–197 (H. Reeve transl., rev. ed. 1900). But take that freedom away and “dissident expression” stands particularly vulnerable to marginalization or outright “suppression by the majority,” leaving all of society poorer for it. Roberts, 468 U. S., at 622.

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