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Philly Scouts Nix B.S.A. Anti-Gay Policy
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: May 29, 2003 12:29 p.m. ET
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) The nation's third largest Boy Scouts chapter announced Thursday it has officially rejected the anti-gay stance of its parent, the Boy Scouts of America. The Philadelphia-area council unanimously voted not to discriminate against gays, putting "sexual orientation" into its policy of nondiscrimination.
The Cradle of Liberty Council serves 87,000 youths in Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.
"We disagree with the national stance, and we're not comfortable with the stated national policy," said David H. Lipson Jr., board chairman of the Cradle of Liberty Council. "That's why we're working on a solution that works for everyone."
The council made its decision public as scout leaders from across the country were gathering in Philadelphia for a national convention.
The decision is in open defiance of the national organization, which believes homosexuality is inconsistent with the traditional moral values espoused in the Scout Oath and Law.
In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in the case of a New Jersey assistant scoutmaster who was expelled for being gay, that the Boy Scouts had the right to bar gays as troop leaders.
The BSA has not commented on the decision by the Philadelphia scouts, but it is not the first time that a local BSA chapter has condemned the national policy, although the Cradle of Liberty Council is the largest, and its non discrimination clause is the most sweeping.
In July 2001, the Boston Minuteman Council approved a bylaw that challenged the national council's policy. The rule effectively allows gay youths to be scouts and gay men to serve as scout leaders as long as they do not openly reveal or discuss their sexual orientation.
In December 2001, United Way boards in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties in California cut off funding to the local Boy Scout councils because of the national policy about gays.
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