 In 2000 , the Supreme Court ruled in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale that Boy Scouts , and all similar private voluntary organizations , have the constitutionally protected right under the First Amendment of freedom of association to set membership standards . In 2004 , the BSA adopted a new policy statement , including a " Youth Leadership " policy that disallowed members to continue in leadership positions in the event they were to hold themselves out as " open and avowed homosexuals . " 
