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 | 2004-JAN-26: CA: Scouts may lose campsite: The local boy scouts in San Diego have held a long-term lease for a campsite and park area located in the city's Balboa Park. The lease was extended in 2001 for 25 years. However, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city because it gave preferential access to the boy scouts in spite of that groups discrimination against homosexuals and Atheists. A settlement was reached. The city will pay almost $1 million in legal fees and court costs. The city will evict the scouts. Matt Coles, director of the ACLU's National Lesbian and Gay Rights Project said that the BSA has: "...aligned themselves with a set of values not shared with most Americans any more. The longer and harder they hold to them the more irrelevant they become." 1 |
| 2004-FEB-25: NY: United Way to terminate funding of BSA council: The United Way of Ulster County will end a four-decade partnership with the Rip Van Winkle Council of the BSA at the end of 2004. For six months, the two groups had tried to negotiate a non-discrimination agreement. They failed. The Council serves Ulster and Greene Counties has its head office in Kingston, NY. 2 |
| 2004-FEB: VA: State approves Boy Scouts' license plate: The Virginia house passed bill HB923 by a vote of 94 to 3 on 2004-FEB-03. It later passed the Senate 15 to 0Scouting for All lodged a complaint with the governor, Mark Warner. It said, in part: "Scouting for All and those Americans who believe in social justice ask that you rescind this decision. We ask this of you because the state of Virginia should not be using tax payer money to honor an organization that discriminates against any segment of our society. The Boy Scouts of America currently discriminates against many of those Virginians who voted for you, those of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and nontheist communities. The Boy Scouts of America discriminates against gay and nontheist youth and adults. Governor Warner, ask yourself if the Boy Scouts of America discriminated against African American youth and adults would you support the state of Virginia honoring the BSA through its commemorative license plate program?" 3 |
| 2004-JUL-07: PA: United Way cuts funding for BSA: The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania had held about $200,000 in escrow for the Cradle of Liberty Council of the BSA, pending a conflict resolution. The United Way will not distribute funds to any group that discriminates on the basis of age, race, religion, or sexual orientation. The local BSA organization is bound by their headquarter's policy of discriminating on the basis of religion and sexual orientation. The United Way decided to release the funds and distribute them to two other youth groups in the greater Philadelphia area. 4 |
| 2004-JUL-8: WA: City rejects aid to Boy Scouts: The city council of Port Townsend, WA, decided to not contribute to the purchas of Boy Scout House on Morgan Hill. The scouts are trying to raise $1,175,000 to purchase the property. 5 |
| 2004-NOV-16: USA: Pentagon to warn military bases to withhold sponsorship of BSA: The Pentagon has agreed to warn its bases that they cannot directly sponsor Boy Scout troops because of the BSA's discrimination against non-theists. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the U.S. military has sponsored hundreds of BSA troops. ACLU lawyer Adam Schwartz said: "If our Constitution's promise of religious liberty is to be a reality, the government should not be administering religious oaths or discriminating based on religious beliefs." However, individual military personnel will still be able to lead Scout troops on their own time. Troops will be able to have meetings on army bases if civilian organizations are allowed to hold events. Rev. Barry Lynn, director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, described the Pentagon's warnings to its bases as "very wise advice....It's important that the federal government — including the military — not sponsor any organization that discriminates on the basis of religion. In the long run, this change will be a good protection for religious freedom and diversity." The Pentagon's action was motivated by a lawsuit that the ACLU initiated against the city of Chicago, the Department of Defense and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city of Chicago had already settled by agreeing to not sponsor BSA activities. 6 |
Year 2006 news items:
| 2006-JUL-22: PA: Boy Scout council may be evicted: The Cradle
of Liberty Council, centered in Philadelphia, has been battling with the
city over its exclusionary policies concerning homosexuals.
Romulo L. Diaz Jr., Philadelphia's City Solicitor, in a letter to William T. Dwyer III, president of the council, wrote" |
"For several years, we have attempted to convince the Cradle of Liberty Council that its discriminatory policies are untenable and violate express City policy and law. Regrettably, we have been unable to obtain adequate assurances that the Boy Scouts will not, while headquartered on City property, discriminate."
The letter goes on to say: "We believe that ejectment, subject to a fair-market rent agreement, is an appropriate measure that recognizes the many contributions made by your organization."They have use of a half-acre on the grounds of the Philadelphia Art Museum. It is unclear whether the term "policies" in Diaz' letter refers to discrimination against homosexuals, or discrimination against Atheists, Agnostics, and other non-theists, or both. The media seems to have assumed it is their discrimination against homosexuals only.
Council spokesman Jeff Jubelirer commented:
"With an epidemic of gun violence taking the lives of Philadelphia's children every day, it is ironic the administration chose this time to destroy programming that services 40,000 children in the city."
Associated Press reported:
"In 2003, the council in Philadelphia said it would adopt a nondiscrimination policy on gays. However, weeks later the group dismissed an 18-year-old Scout who publicly acknowledged he was gay." 7,8
References used:
- Seth Stern and Randy Dotinga, "Scouts must pack their tents: The Supreme Court ruled in their favor, but membership issues still roil the Scouts," The christian Science Monitor, 2004-JAN-26, at: http://www.csmonitor.com/
- Jesse Smith, "Boy Scouts lose funding for barring gays," DailyFreeman.com, 2004-FEB-25, at: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/
- "Any Organization In America That Discriminates Against Any Segment of Our Society Should Not Receive City, State, or Federal Support In Any Manner," Scouting for All, 2004-JUL-10, at: http://www.scoutingforall.org/
- George Tomezsko, "United Way to redistribute funds," NewsGleaner, 2004-JUL-7, at: http://www.newsgleaner.com/
- Luke Bogues, "Port Townsend: City Council won't help with buying
Scout House,"
2004-JUL-08, Peninsula Daily News, at: http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/ - Mike Robinson, "Pentagon to warn bases on Scouts," Associated Press, 2004-NOV-16, at: http://washingtontimes.com/
- "Philadelphia may evict Boy Scout council," Associated Press, 2006-JUL-22, at: http://www.gay.com/
- Tina Moore, "City poised to evict Boy Scouts council," The Philadelphia inquirer, 2006-JUL-23, at: http://www.romingerlegal.com/
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Copyright © 2004 to 2006 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
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Latest updated: 2006-JUL-28
Author: B.A. Robinson
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