UPS's decision to sever corporate donations to the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) in protest of the scouting organization's anti-gay stance pleased a number of prominent advocates, but one group isn't feeling the love.
On its official website, the Family Research Council slammed the international shipping corporation's stance in a scathing blog. Defending BSA's long-standing ban on gay scouts and troop leaders as "putting children's safety first," officials write:
"FRC tried to resolve the matter behind the scenes, even contacting Chairman and CEO Scott Davis with a letter of protest -- to which UPS promptly replied. Unfortunately, the company only reiterated its position that until the BSA puts a greater priority on the political agenda of LGBT activists than the protection of Scouts, they are not entitled to the same equality UPS claims to endorse."
Apparently, [UPS] isn't interested in true diversity but in strong-arming anyone who disagrees with their extreme agenda -- including a century-old youth development program, whose only crime is instilling character into millions of American boys."
Vowing to "take its shipping needs elsewhere," the blogger concludes, "If UPS wants to cater to the intolerant crowd, that's their business. But from now on, it won't be ours."
In November, UPS announced it was withdrawing corporate sponsorship from the BSA. Earlier this week, the Merck Foundation followed suit, saying they would halt funding to the BSA as it was "critical to honor and support a foundational policy of diversity and inclusion in all funding decisions."
In July, BSA reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays from participating as scouts or troop leaders, citing support from parents as a key incentive. "The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting," the Scouts' chief executive Bob Mazzuca told the Associated Press. "We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society."
The issue had been brought the forefront again in recent months following the case of Jennifer Tyrrell, the Ohio-based mother who was forced to resign as den leader of her son's Tiger Scout group because she is a lesbian.
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