2012 Reports

The First Amendment Right to Discriminate

Eitches, Eliana Rae

The "It Gets Better" Campaign, aimed at supporting troubled LGBTQ youth, will be unable to reach its goals if major quasi-public organizations like the Boy Scouts of America are protected underneath the 1st Amendment's freedom of association rights granted to private organizations. With Hurley et al. v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc., et al. and Boy Scouts of America and Monmouth Council, et al., Petitioners v. James Dale, the Supreme Court set a dangerous precedent, sanctioning discrimination under the guise of protecting the 1st Amendment.