Jan 28 2013
The Boy Scouts, Discrimination and the Law
NBC News reported today that the national board of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is moving toward changing its policy banning openly gay scouts and scout leaders. Long controversial, the BSA policy was the subject of court battles until the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the BSA’s right to maintain its policy on First Amendment expressive association grounds. See Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, 530 U.S. 640 (2000).
Nationally, the BSA reaffirmed its policy last July. Since then, local BSA chapters have challenged the national policy, and corporate donors have pulled their funding, citing conflicts with nondiscrimination policies.
In a press release dated Jan. 28, BSA acknowledged that it “is discussing potentially removing the national membership restriction regarding sexual orientation.”
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