Boy Scouts of America (BSA) v. Dale - Essay Example

Boy Scouts of America (BSA) v. Dale BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA (BSA) V. DALE In Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, the Supreme Court decided that anti-discrimination law in New Jersey requiring that the BSA admit a gay scoutmaster was in violation of the association’s First Amendment expressive association right (Lamda Legal, 2001). James Dale had become a boy scout member in 1978 as an 8 year old as a cub scout before becoming a boy scout to the age of 18. He attained the Eagle Scout status, applied and he was approved for adult membership.

Following this, he served in New Jersey as a deputy troop scoutmaster when he was not attending college. However, he received a letter informing him of his status’ revocation by the Monmouth Scout Council (Lamda Legal, 2001). When the Council Executive James Kay was asked to identify reasons for the decision, he contended that membership for the BSA forbade homosexuals. He noted that Dale had appeared in a photograph run by a newspaper at Rutgers as the gay and lesbian campus organizations co-president, in which he admitted to being a homosexual (BSA-discrimination, 2008).

Therefore, he had proven unable to live by the law and oath of the scouts through a public avowal of his homosexuality. Dale countered that his expulsion was in violation of anti-discrimination laws in NJ that prohibited discrimination, in this case, based on sexual and affectional orientation. In his suit, he sought damages and a reinstating order (BSA-discrimination, 2008). The suit was dismissed by a trial court, which ruled that the BSA had excluded open homosexuals consistently (Legal Information Institute, 2010).

The court decided that, biblically and historically, homosexuality was criminal and morally wrong. Since the BSA had subscribed to the view from when it was incepted and the law did not apply to it. This is especially because the BSA did not ascribe to being a public accommodation place, as well as the fact that they could not be compelled to accept homosexuality, as it would be in violation of their First Amendment Freedom of Association rights. However, this was overturned by the Superior Court in NJ, concluding that, under the LAD, the association was a place of public accommodation (Legal Information Institute, 2010).

Since there were over one hundred thousand members, then it was a public organization. The Supreme Court of NJ affirmed the same decision, stating that BSA was not a private organization and they had not proven sufficiently that they were to warrant the First Amendment’s Freedom of Association protection. However, the US Supreme Court overturned this decision by 5-4 in a ruling that contended that BSA had an expressive association right that was protected by the constitution, which would be undermined if they were forced to take Dale back (Law.

ukmc, 2010). The Supreme Court described the BSA as a private association that since inception had held that homosexual conducts was not consistent with the values that it sought to bring its youth members up with (Law.ukmc, 2010). According to Rehnquist, one of the consenting judges, Dales continued presence in the BSA would force them to send its members a message that they were receptive of homosexuality as a legitimate behavior. This ruling by the US Supreme Court spurred some states and organizations to re-examine their relationship with the BSA (Legal Information Institute, 2008).

The New Jersey Episcopal Diocese that possesses 117 congregations made a resolution that deplored the actions of the BSA. The Cub Scout Park 5 of Montclair also made circulations of petitions that rejected the anti-gay stance taken by the BSA. A Princeton BSA troop was refused access to a borough parking lot with numerous charities and companies eliminating or cutting funding to the BSA (Legal Information Institute, 2008). This case expanded the ever-widening schism between anti-gay lobbies and pro-gay lobbies.

However, some states have legislated to allow the inclusion of gay BSA members. References BSA-discrimination. (2008). Dale v. Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved June 19, 2013, from BSA Discrimination.org:Home -> BSA & Gays -> James Dale: http://www.bsa-discrimination.org/html/dale-top.html Lamda Legal. (2001). Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. Retrieved June 19, 2013, from Boy Scouts of America v. Dale | Lambda Legal: http://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/boy-scouts-of-america-v-dale Law.ukmc. (2010). BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA AND MONMOUTH COUNCIL, ET AL. v. JAMES DALE.

Retrieved June 19, 2013, from Boy Scouts of America vs Dale - UMKC School of Law: https://www.google.com/search?q=Boy+Scouts+of+America+v.+Dale&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=rcs Legal Information Institute. (2008). BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA V. DALE (99-699) 530 U.S. 640 (2000) . Retrieved June 19, 2013, from BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA V. DALE - Cornell University: http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-699.ZS.html Oyez. (2010). BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA v. DALE. Retrieved June 19, 2013, from Boy Scouts of America v.

Dale | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1999/1999_99_699