The Boy Scouts of America v. Dale/Facts of the Case-Part 1

James Dale, a former Eagle Scout and assistant scoutmaster, was denied adult membership when The Boy Scouts of America(BSA) found out that Dale was a homosexual and a gay rights activist. "Dale filed suit against the BSA in New Jersey state court, charging that his expulsion as an assistant scoutmaster violated New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The suit sought money damages and a court order reinstating him as assistant scoutmaster. The trial court dismissed his suit, ruling that the BSA had consistently excluded any self-declared homosexuals. The court found that homosexuality, from a Biblical and historical perspective, was both morally wrong and criminal. The trial court's decision was overturned on appeal by New Jersey Superior Court, which concluded that the BSA was a "place of public accommodation" under the LAD. The court found BSA had not demonstrated that it was a sufficiently private organization to warrant constitutional protection under the freedom of expression and association guarantees of the First Amendment." (http://law.jrank.org/pages/4831/Boy-Scouts-America-v-Dale.html) "According to Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the Court held that "applying New Jersey's public accommodations law to require the Boy Scouts to admit Dale violates the Boy Scouts' First Amendment right of expressive association." In effect, the ruling gives the Boy Scouts of America a constitutional right to bar homosexuals from serving as troop leaders. Chief Justice Rehnquist wrote for the Court that, "[t]he Boy Scouts asserts that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the values it seeks to instill," and that a gay troop leader's presence "would, at the very least, force the organization to send a message, both to the young members and the world, that the Boy Scouts accepts homosexual conduct as a legitimate form of behavior."” (http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1999/1999_99_699/)

On Wednesday, June 28, 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that a New Jersey anti-discrimination law that required the Boy Scouts of America to admit a homosexual man as a scoutmaster violated the Boy Scouts' First Amendment right of expressive association.