On June 28, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 ruling that the Boy Scouts of America could prohibit gay men and boys from gaining membership. This case came about when James Dale, assistant Scoutmaster to Troop 73 of New Jersey, was notified that his adult membership to the Boys Scouts of America was revoked based on the fact that his sexual orientation was viewed as inconsistent with the Boy Scouts of America’s values by Monmouth Council Executive, James Kay.
James Dale joined the Boy Scouts of America as a Cub Scout when he was eight years old. He became a Boy Scout three years later then eventually became an Eagle Scout, which is one of the highest honors one can achieve in the Boy Scouts of America. Based on his achievements in the
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An interview with Dale was published in a newspaper, which had a photo of him with a caption saying that he was the co-president of the Rutgers University Lesbian/Gay Alliance. Within the month, Dale received a letter from Monmouth Council Executive James Kay telling him his membership in the Boy Scouts of America was being revoked and that membership was forbidden to homosexuals. Two years later, Dale filed a complaint in the New Jersey Superior Court saying that the Boy Scouts of America had violated the state’s public accommodation law because they had discriminated against him in a public setting. In places of public accommodation in the state of New Jersey, it is illegal for people to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation. The New Jersey Supreme Court decided in favor of the Boy Scouts. The court said that the Boy Scouts of America is a private group so the law does not apply to them. The court also said that the values of the organization were clear, basically saying that Dale should have understood that homosexuality was not acceptable in the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts of America could not be forced by the government to accept Dale as a leader under the First Amendment, which contains the freedom of
Although the Boy Scouts of Americas laws and oaths do not happen to say anything regarding a members sexuality,
This case deals with the Plaintiff's expulsion from his position as Assistant Scoutmaster in a Boy Scouts of America (henceforth called "BSA") troop due to his status as an active homosexual. Dale, the Plaintiff, was serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster in 1990, when, due to a local newspaper article, it was discovered by officials in the local Monmouth BSA Council that he was an active homosexual. A letter was sent to Dale by the Council, notifying him of their decision to revoke his membership in the organization. Dale sent a letter in response, asking why this action was taken. The Council then notified Dale that his homosexual activities made him ineligible for membership in the BSA, as well as making
In 1990, an assistant scoutmaster was found out to be gay and was expelled from the Scouts as consequence. This went to the courts with the final verdict being that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) had the right to expel James Dale, the scoutmaster in question. This has been seen as the BSA having a discriminatory policy of admittance into the Scouts.
Joshua Franklin, a Hawaiian single openly gay father is suing Hawaii State’s Department of education because they failed to respond after being reported about homophobic bullying his two sons endured at school. Franklin’s sons, 10-year-old Alea Stevens-Alameda and 9-year-old Poha Stevens-Alameda have been discriminated against and called homophobic names such as “fag” and “queer” and even assaulted by students because of their father’s sexual orientation. In April, Franklin’s younger son was choked and slammed to the ground during an after school program. According to the article, Hawaii legislators tried to pass a bill that would create a state definition of what bullying is and even listed some reasons for bullying, such as race, gender,
In the most publicized gay bashing, the dead body of Adam R. Schindler Jr., an American naval radioman, was found battered and disfigured in a public toilet in a park in Japan where he had been serving [Sterngold]. After revealing his homosexuality to his peers in the army, he had been left unrecognizably mutilated and beaten to death. In response, in 1993, the Clinton administration initiated “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” [DADT] which meant that military officers could not investigate a soldier’s sexual preference without reason and a soldier should not voluntarily disclose it [McGowan 4]. Historically, the US military had never directly banned gays, only their actions of sodomy, but a change occurred during the World Wars after the Christian
In the court case of Dale v. The Boy Scouts of America, James Dale took the organization to court for revoking his Boy Scout membership for being openly gay. The Boy Scouts of America stated that homosexual conduct contradicted the morals the organization was attempting to teach its scouts (Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2015) However, according to the New Jersey Public Accommodations Act, discrimination is prohibited in public places. This led us to the question of whether The Boy Scouts
II.By listening to a brief history of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy you will gain further knowledge of where we have come since the last 60 years
The issue of gays in the military has been controversial in the United States for many decades. Over these decades there have been many different proposals as to what approach to take in order to handle the situation of homosexuals in the military. However, in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running for President of the United States, he made a promise to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military if he was elected (Washington Post). Bill Clinton followed through with his promise, and in December 1993 he instituted “a defense directive that military applicants should not to be asked about their sexual orientation” (Washington Post). This is now known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was the result
The military leadership believed gay and lesbian service members were not fit for military service, were a security risk, threatened cohesion in the unit, and they violated the privacy of members of their units who were not gay. This outlook has however been refuted by policy makers, who according to Huffman et al., (2012) argued that sexual orientation was not a sufficient ground to reduce the performance of an individual during combat. General Powell alluded to this when putting a case for the group to a senate committee. According to Huffman et al., (2012) the rationale banning gays from military service also went against the just war theory since according to General Colin Powell the gays and lesbians were proud, brave and loyal citizens who deserved a chance to serve the nation. The ban on the gays also went against constitution on freedom of discrimination of all American citizens through race, color or creed. During my time in the service, I only had to chapter one Soldier out of the service due to the DADT, we didn’t know he was gay, until one night of drinking in the barracks, he made a pass at another Soldier and that Soldier reported him to his chain of
There are claims that allowing gays and lesbians into the service openly about their sexual orientation is violation to all service members’ privacy. Officially, military commanders and investigators are required to respect service members’ privacy and are not allowed to investigate personnel for homosexuality. This action is described as a witch hunt. Witch hunts distract the service members from their work and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” made this distraction easier. This causes interference with the ability for them to do their job performance effectively.
One major controversy in effect today is whether girls should be allowed to join the Boy Scouts of America or should there be a distinct separation between the girls and boys. In the article, “Boy Scouts Face Renewed Push to Let Girls Join the Ranks” by David Crary, several girls across the nation have took it upon themselves to try and join the Boy Scouts of America. Some believe that girls should be able to join in order to gain the same scouting experience as the boys in the organization. Others including myself, believe that if the girl scouts aren’t happy with their scouting, they should take the initiative to make a difference in their own community.
Up until recently a person could not be gay in the military. Homosexuals were honorably discharged from the military. In 1993 President Clinton attempted to change this tradition. He received much opposition from politicians, citizens and the military. The result was a compromise, a don't ask, don't tell rule. This meant that the military personal was not to inquire about sexual preference, and that service members were not to be blatant about their sexual orientation. Another macho activity is sports. Gay men in sport have not been accepted. " There is much at stake in maintaining the silence about gay men in sports and in discouraging gay male athletes from revealing their identities"(Coakley 234). To even talk about homosexuals in sports would threaten the system of gender classification. The fact is though there are homosexuals in sports and they are discriminated against. In the locker room athletes use anti- gay banter as part of daily life. Homosexuals in sports live in fear of the truth about their sexuality coming out. Although recently studies have shown that organized sports are becoming less homophobic. People in sports are becoming more tolerant of homosexuals. But the value of a homosexual athlete is of core importance. " Gay athletes with high human capital are much more likely to come out of the closet to their teams than are gay athletes with medium or low human capital"(Anderson 12). As homosexuals are slowly accepted
There are many examples of things and groups that are different in appearance but have similarities in how they are made up. Two of these groups are Boy Scouts and street gangs. Although the Boy Scouts are a constructive organization and street gangs are generally quite destructive, they have practices that are similar. Both sell different products, have some sort of role for the women that are involved, and have some sort of rank system.
The Boy Scouts of America and the Girls Scouts of the USA are both nonprofit organizations that can be the most wonderful experiences in one’s life. Being a Boy Scout or Girl Scout can help the youth develop maturity and character, as they grow with age and enter adulthood. Through the process of volunteering and showing leadership skills, Boy Scouts of America and Girls Scouts of the USA are both life-changing organizations. One involved in any of the two organizations will create unity throughout their community and uphold a legacy. While the youth involved in one of the two organizations earn achievements and countless awards, scouting can be utilized to create an exceptional college admission resume. Although the Girls Scouts of the
When my grandfather earned his Eagle Scout Rank in 1933, he unknowingly began what would become a family tradition that has helped mold my personal perspective today. He ignited a passion for Boy Scouts within my family, which continued through my father, and was fulfilled by me when I earned the Rank of Eagle in 2014. Scouting formed me into the person I am today more so than any other activity I have ever been involved with, reinforcing my family’s emphasis on leadership, service, and work ethic.