Law Commons^™

“Closet Case”: Boy Scouts Of America V. Dale And The Reinforcement Of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, And Transgender Invisibility, Darren Lenard Hutchinson

UF Law Faculty Publications

This Article argues that the Supreme Court's decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale misapplies and ignores controlling First Amendment precedent and incorrectly defines “sexual identity” as a clinical or biological imposition that exists apart from expression or speech. This Article provides a doctrinal alternative to Dale that would protect vital interests in both equality and liberty and that would not condition, as does Dale, sexual “equality” upon the silencing of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

This Article proceeds in five parts. Part I provides an introduction to the case and issues.Part II discusses the evolution of the …