Boy Scouts of America v. Dale
| Boy Scouts of America v. Dale | ||||
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| Negotiated April 26, 2000 |
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| Decided June 28, 2000 |
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| Certiorari to clarify the question of whether a private organization such as the Boy Scouts of America can refuse membership to men who are openly gay with reference to the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States . | ||||
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| The freedom of assembly enshrined in the 1st Amendment includes the right of private organizations to refuse membership if the organization perceives its public perception to be impaired by the presence of these persons. The Boy Scouts of America have the right to refuse membership from homosexual men if homosexuality is found to be inconsistent with the values of the organization. State laws that enforce admission are unconstitutional. | ||||
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| 1. Amendment to the United States Constitution |
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale is the Supreme Court of the United States negotiated case to question whether the first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States enshrined freedom of private organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America allows gay deny women membership.
background
In 2000, the American boy scout organization Boy Scouts of America took the position that homosexuality was incompatible with the values of the organization and the presence of homosexual group leaders could impair the public perception of the organization, and openly denied membership to homosexual men on this grounds.
James Dale, a 20-year-old student, was elected president of a gay and lesbian organization at Rutgers University in 1990 and gave an interview to a newspaper that same year announcing his homosexuality. At the time, Dale had been a member of the Boy Scouts for twelve years and was active in the organization as a leader of scout groups. The Boy Scouts excluded Dale from the organization because of his homosexuality, since homosexual behavior is not compatible with the values of the organization and, in particular, the presence of homosexual scout group leaders could negatively affect the public perception of the organization.
Dale then sued the Boy Scouts for violating New Jersey state anti-discrimination laws . After Dale was initially unsuccessful in the New Jersey Superior Court, an appeals court overturned the first instance decision and ordered Dale to be reinstated with the Boy Scouts. The New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the appeal judgment. The Boy Scouts then appealed to the United States Supreme Court. This accepted the case in 2000 for a final decision.
judgment
The court ruled 5 to 4 (five judges voted for the decision, four against) that a private organization cannot be compelled to admit members due to the freedom of assembly enshrined in Amendment 1 to the United States Constitution if the presence of these members contradicts one's own values and principles and could impair the public perception of the organization. This was stated in the case of the Boy Scouts for the acceptance of homosexual members. The constitution gives private organizations the right to set the standards and conditions for membership themselves. The state cannot force the admission of members if their membership runs counter to the messages that the organization wants to send out to the public. This is the case in the present case, since the Boy Scouts do not consider homosexuality to be exemplary for their underage members.
The court found the application of the anti-discrimination laws of the state of New Jersey in the present case to be unconstitutional and the exclusion of Dale from the organization legal. The decision of the lower court was overturned.
Further development
The Boy Scouts of America lifted the membership ban for homosexual ordinary members in 2014 after a member vote, although the ban on leaders of scout groups remained. This ban was also lifted in 2015. Membership for transgender people has also been possible since 2017 . This means that discrimination against LGBT people among the Boy Scouts has now been completely eliminated. However, the fundamental decision of the Supreme Court continues to form applicable law.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Los Angeles Times February 5, 2017: Here is how the Boy Scouts has evolved on social issues over the years.Retrieved March 27, 2018.