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Boy Scouts Argue for Freedom against Gay Rights
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by Susan Marie Kovalinsky | June 16, 2010 at 03:55 pm
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A representative for the Cradle of Liberty Council, Jason Gosselin has argued that the Boy Scouts' rights to free speech and free association are being violated by the city ofPhiladelphia, PA.
Shelly Smith, attorney for the city of Philadelphia which wants the Boy Scouts to pay $200,000 per year for renting a city-owned building for it's headquaters. The Scouts can remain at $1 only if they stop discriminating.
The city has asked the local Scouts to stop enforcing the national group's policy that specifically excludes all gay male participants. Otherwise, the rent for their headquarters would increase from $1 per year to $200,000. Cradle of Liberty is the name of a Boy Scout chapter that initiated the lawsuit two years ago. (Philly.com)
The Boy Scouts of America is heavily influenced by Mormon leadership, and has received widespread support from government for decades, and at many levels.
In the past 15 years, as more states have adopted anti-discrimination policies during the the BSA policy that excludes gays, atheists and others for no reason other than religious dogma has fallen into ill repute. The US Supreme Court ruled that BSA is a private organization not subject to membership scrutiny of public institution; conversely, the Court did not grant BSA special protection from government ordinances either.
The American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) has said that the court case puts the city of Philadelphia in fighting stance against the Boy Scouts.
At issue is a dispute over the Boy Scouts discriminatory policy that excludes any gay men or boys from participating, and their headquarters which is located in property owned by the city. The Boy Scouts pay only $1 per year for the space, and the city has given them several options -- rescind the discriminatory policy, or pay $200,000 per year, or get out.
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Susan Marie Kovalinsky
Ledgewood, New Jersey, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 03:17 on June 17th, 2010
Due to our underdeveloped intellectual capacity, we hereby place our three fingered salute in the hands of like minded adults who prefer to prepare us for a world as it is not, not as it is or shall be.