Complaint seeks answers on Scouting America’s transgender policy after Pentagon deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — A gay rights advocate is suing the Department of Defense to answer a simple question: Did America Start Scouting? I actually agree with banning transgender members Is there a deal with the Pentagon?
James Dale, who filed the complaint in New York City federal court on Thursday, alleges that both parties gave conflicting answers while the Pentagon allegedly refused to release a copy of its agreement with the organization.
Pentagon made a deal Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in February he would refocus the organization with Scouting America diversity initiatives and other “woke” policies. Hegseth has threatened to cut off the military’s long-standing support for the organization if it does not comply within six months (which would be at the end of August).
Hegseth placed great emphasis on Scouting America’s acceptance of transgender youth, saying the organization will ask members to use their “biological sex at birth, not gender identity.”
But Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, said the agreement does not change existing policies regarding transgender youth and would be welcomed.
“We have transgender individuals in our program, and we will include transgender individuals in our program from now on,” said Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone. he told the Associated Press in February.
In his complaint seeking the settlement, Dale states that neither statement “cannot be true and the risks are extremely significant to the public.”
Hegseth vowed in February to “vigorously review” Scouting America’s changes and threatened to withdraw his support.
“We hope it doesn’t happen, but it could happen,” Hegseth said at the time. “Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should return to the Boy Scout Group as it was originally founded, turning boys into men. Maybe one day.”
The Boy Scouts and the military have long-standing ties, including the military providing logistical support for the National Scout Festival and the scouts meeting at or near bases. The Army also maintains a strong relationship with the Eagle Scouts, whose members often serve in the military.
Dale filed a Freedom of Information Act request in late March seeking a memorandum of understanding between Scouting America and the Pentagon regarding the changes.
“The Department requested no exemptions, submitted no records, and missed every deadline,” he said in his complaint. “Mr. Dale is taking this action to enforce the public’s right to know before the Department’s August deadline expires.
When asked for comment on Dale’s case, the Pentagon said in a statement that it would not comment on pending litigation and referred to a video Hegseth released in February outlining changes he said the agency was making. Scouting America did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Dale raised another question in his complaint about the government’s ability to require the organization to accept or reject certain members.
in 1990 Boy Scouts of America fires Dalean Eagle Scout who later became an assistant scoutmaster after discovering that he was co-president of Rutgers University’s gay and lesbian organization. He sued the Boy Scouts in 1992, accusing them of discrimination, and lost in the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the organization could maintain membership and leadership criteria that excluded homosexuals.
“Here, if the Department’s explanation is correct, the federal government has now obtained by contract what the Court once determined it could not mandate by law,” Dales’ lawsuit states. “And if it is not, then the Department has misled the public about what Scouting America agreed to do.”
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Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle in Dallas contributed to this report.
