Philadelphia may evict Boy Scouts council (over its policy on gays)

[deadparrot]

PHILADELPHIA - The city said it will evict a Boy Scout council from its publicly owned headquarters or make the group pay a fair rent price unless it changes its policy on gays.

The Boy Scouts' Cradle of Liberty Council, the country's third-largest, has been battling with the city for more than three years over the policy, which like the national Scouts organization forbids gays from being leaders.

City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. wrote a letter to William T. Dwyer III, president of the Cradle of Liberty Council, stating that the council's "discriminatory policies" violate city policy and law, and that city officials have not been assured the group will not discriminate.

Unless the city gets a "fair-market rent agreement," the council will be evicted, the letter says.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060722/ap_on_re_us/boy_scouts_eviction

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Either they are a public organization or they are a private one

Public organizations may receive all sorts of benefits provided by tax payers, such as rent free use of public facilities; but they are obligated to obey laws such as non-discrimination. Private organizations may define membership as they see fit; but they may not receive benefits provided by tax payers. You can't have it both ways.

And we all know the position the BSA argued before the United States Supreme Court and won.

[tularetom]

2. Its ironic to me to watch the Boy Scouts turn inside out

to exclude gays from their organization, because when I was 12 or 13, any kid in my town who joined the Scouts was ridiculed by most of the other kids for BEING gay. Yeah I realize we were just dumbass kids but goddamnit it always seemed a little odd for a bunch of boys to go camping in the woods with a few adult males for no reason except to go camping in the woods with a few adult males. They weren't hunting they weren't fishing they weren't even playing cards or going to whorehouses so what possible reason did they have for being there?

[JohnnyLib]

3. now, hush

--it's that kind of trouble-makin' talk that upset the Catholic Church.


(sorry, sometimes my sarcasm is just plain vicious)

[DYouth]

4. I wish they'd do that throughout the South

But here we have to tolerate such intolerance.

[CatholicEdHead]

5. They can't have it both ways

The Boy Scouts should overturn their policy on gays.

/ex Life Scout

[msongs]

6. forbids gays from being members - no little 11 yr old gay scouts pls nt