Boy Scouts of America v. Dale

Background

The dispute involved the Boy Scouts of America, a private youth organization, and James Dale, a former Eagle Scout whose adult membership was revoked after a newspaper reported he was a gay rights activist and copresident of a university gay–lesbian group. New Jersey's public accommodations law bars discrimination based on sexual orientation. The New Jersey Supreme Court held the law required the Boy Scouts to readmit Dale; the Boy Scouts asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether that application of the law violated the group's First Amendment rights.

Reasoning

The central question was whether forcing the Boy Scouts to accept Dale would interfere with the group’s ability to teach and exemplify its values. The majority found the Scouts engage in expressive activity through the Scout Oath and Law and that the organization had a consistent official view that homosexual conduct conflicted with those values. The Court concluded that admitting an openly gay, public activist as an adult leader would send a message inconsistent with the Scouts’ chosen expression and would significantly burden the group’s right to choose members who help convey its message. The Court ruled the State’s anti-discrimination interest did not justify that intrusion.

Real world impact

The decision protects private, expressive associations from being forced to accept members when inclusion would meaningfully alter the group's expressive message. It narrows how broadly state public-accommodations laws can be applied to membership organizations and affects challenges that pit anti-discrimination rules against expressive association claims.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Stevens (joined by three Justices) dissented, arguing the Scouts lacked a clear, consistently expressed position on homosexuality and that New Jersey’s law did not impose a serious burden on the organization's expression.