The Boy Scouts of America last week decided to lift its ban on gay members, but kept the ban on scout masters. New Jersey native James Dale took the Boy Scouts to court over the ban more than a decade ago and the case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Dale lost to the organization. Although Dale said at first review it might seem that the Boy Scouts have moved forward, he’s disappointed by the decision.
“At first instinct, I want to say that this a great thing, it’s a step forward. But unfortunately it’s really not. What this is doing is by saying to a young child that if they’re gay they can’t sort of be in the program in the future, it’s sending a very destructive message to them and sort of taking away the self confidence that I know many children receive in the scouting program,” Dale said.
Dale was a Cub Scout starting at age 8 in Monmouth County. He remained a member of the Scouts until he was expelled at 19. During his sophomore year at Rutgers University, Dale said he came out of the closet and got involved in the gay community there. That involvement got him expelled.
“I was the co-president of the Gay Alliance at Rutgers and I was speaking at a conference on the needs of gay and lesbian adolescents. Sort of how teachers could help make a safe space for gay youth. And that was reported in the Newark Star-Ledger. It was a relatively small article in the back of the paper,” Dale said. “Somebody in the Boy Scouts saw that. And then as a result, they started proceedings to expel me from the organization.”
Dale said that when the expulsion process started in 1990, he was unaware of the policy regarding gays. “It wasn’t something that most members knew at that time. So I was very disheartened there. And then I kind of put my faith from the Boy Scouts into the legal system and believed that the legal system will do the right thing,” he said.
The New Jersey Supreme Court sided with Dale, saying the policy violated the law against discrimination. But when the Boy Scouts appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, Dale lost by one vote in a divided decision.
Dale said he’s surprised the Boy Scouts have only moved forward by lifting the one ban because of where America is today with regard to civil rights.
“People really understand that demonizing and all these fears and prejudices about gay people are really wrong because gay people are coming out, they’re telling their stories. They’re sisters and brothers, teachers, coworkers,” he said. “So maybe back in 1990 it was a very different world. And maybe even in 2000 it was a very different time. But today in 2013 when the president of the United States is in favor of marriage equality for gays and lesbians, I think the Boy Scouts are really out of step with the world.”