Boy Scouts of America Membership Controversies - Litigation Over The Membership Policies

Litigation Over The Membership Policies

The Boy Scouts of America has been sued because of its membership, leadership, and employment standards. Some of the lawsuits dealt with the BSA's standards that require Scouts and Scouters to believe in God, those in leadership positions to not be openly homosexual, and the exclusion of girls from membership in some programs.

There has been some opposition to single-sex membership programs and organizations in the United States including some programs of the BSA. The Boy Scouts of America admits only boys to its Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting programs. Several lawsuits involving girls seeking admission to these programs (see Yeaw v. Boy Scouts of America) have resulted in court rulings that the BSA is not required to admit girls.

During the 1980s and 1990s,several people attracted media attention when they sued the BSA, attempting to make them accept atheists as members and openly homosexual individuals in leadership positions. In 1981, Tim Curran, an openly homosexual former Scout, sued asking that he be accepted as an assistant Scoutmaster (see Curran v. Mount Diablo Council). In 1991, twin brothers William and Michael Randall, who had refused to recite the "duty to God" portion of the Cub Scout Promise and Boy Scout Oath, sued to be allowed to continue in the program (see Randall v. Orange County Council and Welsh v. Boy Scouts of America). In addition, there were several other lawsuits involving essentially the same issues. Ultimately, the courts ruled in favor of the Boy Scouts of America in each case.

The courts have repeatedly held that the Boy Scouts of America, and all private organizations, have a right to set membership standards in accordance with the First Amendment protected concept of freedom of association. In particular, in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the BSA's Constitutional right to freedom of association gave them the authority to expel a gay assistant Scoutmaster.

After the Dale decision, public opinion in some communities turned against the BSA; corporations, charities, and even some local governments criticized the policy, threatening to either cut off financial support or block the Boy Scouts from using public buildings for their meetings. While some segments of the public criticized the organization, other groups became more enthusiastic in their support of the Scouts.

Since the Supreme Court's ruling, the focus of lawsuits has shifted to challenging the BSA's relationship with governments in light of their membership policies. A number of lawsuits have been filed by or with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union over issues such as government association with the BSA and the conditions under which the BSA may access governmental resources.