Justice John Paul Stevens, with whom Justice David H. Souter, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Stephen Gerald Breyer join, dissenting
In a lengthy and spirited dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens said the Boy Scouts had offered no evidence that it had any policy on homosexuality and that the absence of such a policy meant that the organization's shared goals could not be undermined by the acceptance of gay members and leaders. ""The evidence before this court makes it exceptionally clear that the Boy Scouts of America has, at most, simply adopted an exclusionary membership policy and has no shared goal of disapproving of homosexuality," Stevens wrote. Stevens also chided the court majority for what he said was its willingness to simply accept the Boy Scouts of America's own claims about the organization's views on homosexuality."Unless one is prepared to turn the right to associate into a free pass out of discrimination laws, an independent inquiry is a necessity," he wrote.” (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Boy+Scouts+of+America+v.+Dale)
“Justice Stevens’ dissent makes much of its observation that the public perception of homosexuality in this country has changed. Indeed, it appears that homosexuality has gained greater societal acceptance. But this is scarcely an argument for denying First Amendment protection to those who refuse to accept these views. The First Amendment protects expression, be it of the popular variety or not. And the fact that an idea may be embraced and advocated by increasing numbers of people is all the more reason to protect the First Amendment rights of those who wish to voice a different view.” (http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/boyscouts.html)
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My almost-ex-husband is a boy scout district commissioner and he has always said that the scout policy is anti-homosexual b/c they abuse children.
ReplyDeleteI am more concerned about other problems with scouts. My husabnd is on the child abuse registry. He has been investigated numerous times this year for child abuse and charges were sent to the local county attorney. The scout office knows about this and has done nothing. Instead, he is now the scoutmaster for the Omaha Nebraska troop for the national jamboree. How is this protecting the safety of children??? Have they forgotten about the assistant scout master in Omaha who received the death penalty for killing two young boys? Where is their promise to keep the boys safe?
Also, the boy scouts have a policy about homosexuality b/c it goes against family values. However, it is ok for married scout leaders to have affairs with each other. The Scout office is also aware of this problem with my husband and says they can do nothing about it. He and the other leader are not discreet, parents are complaining, the boys are teasing my son - but they are both good scout leaders so it's ok. But if they were single gay men who were in a relationship, they would be kicked out of scouting.