The ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project and the ACLU of New Jersey filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the case. address. The case involved the expulsion by a Boy Scout troop in New Jersey of James Dale, a gay male who was an assistant scoutmaster. resources. The Boy Scouts of America revoked former Eagle Scout and assistant scoutmaster James Dale's adult membership when the organization discovered that Dale was a homosexual and a gay rights activist. Please check your email and confirm your registration. homosexuality. The Supreme Court decision: The U.S. Supreme Court, in a close 5 - 4 decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, overturned an earlier New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that had found that the Boy Scouts were a public accommodation. belief or any other basis. In the case at issue, Boy Scouts of America v. James Dale, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether the Scouting organization has a First Amendment right to defy a New Jersey state law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. Boy Scouts of America v. Dale was a landmark court case of the Supreme Court of the United States, which effectively overturned the New Jersey Supreme Court’s application of the New Jersey public accommodations law—a statute that forced the Boy Scouts of America to readmit assistant Scoutmaster James Dale. The BSA announced that is was considering dropping their national discrimination policy against sexual minorities. Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund was lead counsel. United States v. American Library Association, Inc. 22 Ill.530 U.S. 640, 120 S. Ct. 2446, 147 L. Ed. Citation 22 Ill.530 U.S. 640, 120 S. Ct. 2446, 147 L. Ed. To do so would violate the First Amendment constitutional rights of the entire organization and its members, who also align themselves with the principals on which the organization stands. Issue. Originally published on 1999-AUG-9  As a pre-law student you are automatically registered for the Casebriefs™ LSAT Prep Course.

Respondent is James Dale, a former Eagle Scout whose adult membership in the Boy Scouts was revoked when the Boy Scouts learned that he is an avowed homosexual and gay rights activist.
A new lawsuit similar to Boy Scouts of America v. Dale might result in a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court's year 2000 decision. The case involved the expulsion by a Boy Scout troop in New Jersey of James Dale, a gay male who was an assistant scoutmaster. Similarly, because today's decision is limited to groups like Boy Scouts of America - which teach values - it will have a limited impact on the application of state laws like the New Jersey law the Boy Scouts were trying to evade. Ralph G. Neas, spokesperson for People For the American Way

The court decision only applies to gay scout
He said in part: "That such prejudices are still prevalent and that they have caused serious and tangible harm to countless members of the class New Jersey seeks to protect are established matters of fact that neither the Boy Scouts nor the court disputes. citizens. They prohibited gays and bisexuals from joining the BSA and immediately expelled any who came out of "the closet" as members. Scouts

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above 5. eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'religioustolerance_org-box-4','ezslot_4',261,'0','0']));Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the dissent.

Every private association would have had to look like and believe whatever the government said."

In 1999 Dale filed suit in New Jersey Superior Court and successfully argued that his dismissal had violated a New Jersey civil rights law that prohibited any “public accommodation” from discriminating on the … You also agree to abide by our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, and you may cancel at any time. ... ", "The Boy Scouts asserts that 2. However, by this time, acceptance of equal rights for the LGB community had undergone a rapid increase throughout the U.S. A surprise development occurred during late 2013-JAN. Scouts to hide their discrimination behind the First Amendment and Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for The New Jersey Supreme Court held that New Jersey's public accommodations law requires that the Boy Scouts admit Dale.

"The most troubling aspect of the case is illustrated by the Court's acceptance of the Scouts' decision not to exclude heterosexual Scout leaders who opposes the organization's homophobic policies, but to exclude openly gay Scout leaders," Coles said. Consequently, the decision will not advance the sweeping attacks that have been made recently on state and local laws nationwide that bar discrimination based on sexual orientation. Those groups include the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Asian Pacific Legal Consortium, the National Council of Jewish Women, the American Federation of Teachers, the Anti-Defamation League, the California Women's Law Center, the Center for Women Policy Studies, Equal Rights Advocates, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Partnership for Women and Families, the National Women's Law Center, the Northwest Women's Law Center, People for the American Way Foundation, Women Employed and the Women's Law Project. Of course, much has changed since that decision â€" including the growing acceptance of same-sex marriage and the ability of gay people to serve openly in the military. this may not be possible in the future. In the past, they had held scout jamborees on army bases; Foundation wrote: "The court’s decision permits the Boy He was an exemplary Scout and eventually became an Eagle Scout. "Today's ruling is out of step with the critical social need for nondiscrimination laws.". Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. He did acknowledge that homosexuality ', If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be bold. should share a pup tent with the Scouts, who is fit to be a Casebriefs is concerned with your security, please complete the following, The Jurisdiction Of Federal Courts In Constitutional Cases, The Bill Of Rights, The Civil War Amendments, And Their Inter-Relationship, The Due Process, Contract, And Just Compensation Clauses And The Review Of The Reasonableness Of Legislation, The Equal Protection Clause And The Review Of The Reasonableness Of Legislation, Defining The Scope Of 'Liberty' And 'Property' Protected By The Due Process Clause-The Procedural Due Process Cases, Application Of The Post Civil War Amendments To Private Conduct: Congressional Power To Enforce The Amendments, Governmental Control Of The Content Of Expression, Restrictions On Time, Place, Or Matter Of Expression, LSAT Logic Games (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning I (June 2007 Practice Exam), LSAT Logical Reasoning II (June 2007 Practice Exam), You can opt out at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our newsletter, Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc, Pacific Gas and Electric Company v. Public Utilities Commission of California, Tasjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut, First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, United States Civil Service Commission v. National Association of Letter Carriers ALF-CIO, United States v. National Treasury Employees Union, Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission.

rights groups were appalled. "The Court has essentially said that freedom of speech gives an organization the right to discriminate on the basis of an individual's identity, rather than a message that is in conflict with the group's views. In mid-2012, a secret committee of the BSA reviewed their policy of actively discriminating against lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGB).

The halfway policy change would inevitably invite litigation."

Last year, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in favor of Dale, a former Assistant Scout Master who earned high marks for his work but was terminated when the Scouts' organization learned that he is gay. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the BSA is a They decided that it was in the best interest of the organization to continue it unchanged.