A gay rights activist, James Dale, has filed a complaint in a New York City federal court seeking answers on Scouting America’s transgender policy after a deal with the Pentagon. The Pentagon made a deal with Scouting America in February that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said would refocus the organization away from diversity initiatives and other “woke” policies.

Conflicting Answers

Hegseth emphasized that Scouting America will require members to use their “biological sex at birth and not gender identity.” However, Scouting America said the agreement did not change existing policies regarding transgender youth and that they are welcome. “We have transgender people in our program and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward,” Scouting America President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press in February.

Dale’s complaint states that both accounts “cannot be true, and the stakes are of profound public importance.” He had filed a Freedom of Information Act request in late March to get the memorandum of understanding between Scouting America and the Pentagon regarding the changes.

Implications

The Pentagon’s deal with Scouting America has implications for the organization’s policies and the rights of its members. The Department of Defense has a long history of supporting Scouting America, including providing logistical support for the National Boy Scout Jamboree and scouts meeting on or near bases.

Dale’s lawsuit raises questions about the government’s ability to require the organization to accept or deny certain members. In 1990, the Boy Scouts of America expelled Dale, then an Eagle Scout, after discovering he was co-president of Rutgers University’s gay and lesbian organization. He sued in 1992, accusing the Boy Scouts of discrimination, and lost at the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the organization could maintain membership and leadership criteria that excluded homosexuals.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.