Philadelphia Boy Scout Chapter Fights To Keep Out Gays, But Keep City-Owned Rent-Free Space

PHILADELPHIA — A Boy Scouts chapter will ask a jury to decide this week whether the city can rescind a sweet lease to the youth group because of a national policy banning gays.

A federal trial pits the Cradle of Liberty Council against city lawyers, who say the council's cheap headquarters lease should be withdrawn because the anti-gay policy violates Philadelphia's own antidiscrimination laws.

Eight jurors were selected Monday, and opening statements were set for Tuesday. The case was expected to last about a week.

The council has been fighting for seven years to try to keep its $1-per-year lease on a downtown Beaux Arts city building while adhering to the national organization's admissions policies.

In 2004, the council tried to thread that needle by adopting a statement saying it would not to engage in "unlawful" discrimination or accept prejudice and intolerance within its ranks.

The stance didn't satisfy the city. Mayor Michael Nutter has threatened to start charging $200,000 a year in rent unless the local council abides by a 1982 ordinance that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and other grounds.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2000 ruled that the Boy Scouts of America, as a private group, have a First Amendment right to exclude gays.

The youth group's Philadelphia council had adopted a more explicit nondiscrimination policy in 2003 to settle the issue – but was forced to retrench when the Boy Scouts of America ordered it to conform with national rules.

The local chapter followed with the 2004 nondiscrimination statement and later sued the city, charging free speech violations and viewpoint discrimination.

The issues involved in the Philadelphia case are not unique, as numerous municipalities, charities and private donors have moved to withhold support from the Boy Scouts because of the ban on gays.

"The laws and policies direct what the Boy Scouts must do to obtain rent-free occupancy of city-owned property; they do not compel the Boy Scouts to make any statement about religion, homosexuality, or any speech whatsoever," lawyers for the city wrote in a trial memo outlining their case.

The Cradle of Liberty Council contends the city's ultimatum violates their First Amendment rights. Their leaders also complain that the city subsidizes rents charged to other groups with selective membership rules, including a Roman Catholic parish and the Colonial Dames of America, a private women's group.

"The city has never asked any of these organizations to pay market or punitive rent, to abandon their membership policies or to leave their respective buildings," the council's lawyers wrote in their trial memo.

Comments

[NWBrunette]

09:33 AM on 07/09/2010

The boy scouts of America can go suck an egg. How dare they think they can get basically free-rent from the city but not have to follow the policies like everyone else does. What a horrible message to be teaching children. Shame on them.

[Ranger518Z]

06:53 PM on 06/23/2010

Why would you want to join a group that clearly does not want you? Why not form the GSA, Gay Scouts of America.

[johnoconnor]

04:34 PM on 06/22/2010

The scouts have had a major problem with gay scoutmasters, and so it makes sense for them to exclude them. Overall, studies show that gays are less than 3% of the population but over 33% of the molestation cases. But it's worth it for a city to allow them to use their space.

[212garrett]

11:15 AM on 07/13/2010

"Overall, studies show" = "What I'm about to write is complete nonsense"

[azfromarkansas]

08:56 PM on 06/15/2010

The Boys Scouts of America is an expressive organization that says that if they were forced to allow gay people to join, that would severely hamper their ability to get their message out and so they should not be subsidized by the city of Philadelphia or any other city. I would not want my tax payer dollars aiding any group that discriminates against blacks, so why should taxpayer dollars go to a group that openly discriminates against gays? Gay people pay taxes in Philadelphia too. Raise their rent or send them packing.

[cminca]

03:09 PM on 06/15/2010

The rent needs to be retroactive. Preferably to 1982, but at least for the last 7 years.

[mszimmie]

12:58 PM on 06/15/2010

Holy Cow! I didn't even realize that Rand Paul was a troop leader!!!

[paganmist]

09:04 AM on 06/15/2010

I personally support the ability of private clubs to choose it's members.

Yes, even if it means they are discriminating based on gender or race - if it is a PRIVATE club, then yes, they can choose to. At the end of the day, we all use SOME criteria to choose our friends and associates.

However, and here's the rub - if you want TAX BREAKS, and GOVERNMENT-PAID RENT, then you're going to have to follow the rules, and the rules say you can't discriminate and then expect to have your rent paid by the people you're discriminating against.

Seriously. You don't mind using gay tax-payers to pay your way, but you want to exclude them from your activities?

*smacks Boy Scouts of America with a sock full of quarters*

Homey don't play dat.

[VTVinnie]

09:50 AM on 06/15/2010

Well said! Fan # 539

[mszimmie]

01:04 PM on 06/15/2010

Not trying to start a fight, but are you also in favor of private business doing the same thing? Do you think that the Civil Rights Act was too much of an intrusion by the Federal Government? Following your logic- a rent paying entrepreneur can decide that it chooses not to allow African Americans into his restaurant, or Jews, or purple people eaters. See where I'm going with this? Have we not been down this road before?

[Jacqueline R]

02:57 AM on 06/15/2010

The Boy Scouts want their cake and they want to eat it too. They want to practice their freedom of speech and their right to discriminate but they want to do it on government owned property. Its one or the other. If they still want free rent then they have to abide by federal and local government laws, such as the ones that are against discrimination. What is this teaching the boys? That it is okay to hate others that are different? What a good moral lesson for them to learn.

[hoobit]

01:45 AM on 06/15/2010

Boy Scout Oath or Promise
-----------------------------------------
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
http://www.usscouts.org/advance/boyscout/bsoathlaw.asp

According to the BSA (see above link): "Being morally straight means to live your life with honesty, to be clean in your speech and actions, and to be a person of strong character."

It confuses me, then, that a local Eagle Scout candidate was 'asked to leave' the troop because of rumors about his 'activities', while the other six young men, young men who were also Eagle Scout candidates in the troop, were not. Incredibly, the *rumors* about the first man got him kicked out...nary a word was spoken about the 'jock' BMOCs who were banging their cute little girlfriends at every opportunity. When it comes to being "morally straight", I guess the BSA puts ALL their emphasis on being "straight', and ignores the "moral" part...at least, ignores it for those who happen to be straight.

Way to double-standard, there, BSA; way to instill and reward big0try; way to go.

No, really, just go...go back to the dark ages -- you old phart, Neanderthalic, jackanape BSA twits, you. You might catch cooties or teh gay, here, in this day and age, if you don't.

Unmitigated yackjasses, all.

[plasma001]

07:24 AM on 06/15/2010

Tell ya what, if gays don't like it, let them form their own clubs. Why do 'militant' gays feel the need to identify themselves by their sexual orientation and FORCE this orientation on others?

[rcampbell]

08:31 AM on 06/15/2010

No one is forcing their sexual orientation on anyone. The LAW of the Untied States (as well as common sense and common decency) demands that sexual orientation is not a condition which permits discrimination any more than one's gender or skin color. The concept of equality is the very essense of America and being American. One may still be so bigotted that in the 21st century one still clings to these ancient absurdities, but it's simply not American, it's not legal and it's not right.

[paganmist]

08:51 AM on 06/15/2010

People used to wonder why they had to have "mixed" relationships (blacks dating whites) "forced" on them as well.

It's amazing. When you don't approve of something, you want it to be illegal.

Once it's no longer illegal, you want it to stay behind closed doors so you don't have to see it.

When the truth of the matter is, anything goes in a public space. If you don't want to see what's happening in a public space, then close your eyes and take yourself home!

This country belongs to gays as well, okay? And if it's okay for straight people to be openly straight in public, then it's gotta be okay for gays to be openly gay in public.

And the only person forcing you to watch it is yourself. If you don't like it, leave!

[DOHC Holiday]

01:18 AM on 06/15/2010

I've been saying this for years. If the scouts wanna discriminate, then they need to find non-government locations for meets, recruiting, etc.

[imsosure]

01:16 AM on 06/15/2010

Could the Philly chapter is ran by the Tea Party, makes about as much sense.

[Alfredo Zapata]

11:34 PM on 06/14/2010

When did the boy scouts become a bigoted socialist organization?

[idreamwideyed]

09:24 AM on 06/15/2010

hints: it a christian organization.

[BeltwayInsider]

11:10 PM on 06/14/2010

Can't the Scouts just break up into separate organizations depending upon whether they're located in a red state or a blue state, and let the blue state scout groups change their bylaws accordingly?

If the red states want their gay scouts to grow up in a closeted environment (i.e. prepare them for the reality of life in their geographical location), why should the scouts in the blue states be forced to adhere to their ignorance and intolerance?

[RitaS]

10:20 PM on 06/14/2010

Why should a private group, a Boy Scouts chapter in Philly, who discriminates against a segment of the US population just because they can based on the Supreme Court ruling, be ALLOWED to get preferential treatment by ANY State office?????

[blacksmithn]

10:16 PM on 06/14/2010

Because nothing says American values like the unfettered right to discriminate against people we think we're better than and get a government benefit while doing so.