In Philadelphia, the city got serious about what they will and will not support. The Boy Scouts of America, always getting a free ride for their program, will now have to pay going rates for the space.
The organization's Cradle of Liberty Council, which currently pays $1 a year in rent, must pay the increased amount to remain in its downtown building past May 31, Fairmount Park Commission president Robert N.C. Nix said Wednesday.
City officials say they cannot legally rent taxpayer-owned property for a nominal sum to a private organization that discriminates.
Mark that increase from $1 to $200,000.
On one hand, it's almost archaic to think of an organization that bans certain members of our society. Makes you think of fat-necked relics like Hootie Johnson of August National Golf Club, boasting his right to exclude blacks, Jews and women.
And of course, the queers. In fact, I don't think that's even on the charter. Why bother saying what goes without question?
You can't do that in Philadelphia anymore. No free rides from the city and a written, directed policy to ban gays.
And while the organization can cry the children will suffer, claiming the additional dollars "would have to come from programs. That's 30 new Cub Scout packs, or 800 needy kids going to our summer camp," it seems to me there is a very quick way to deal with the situation that won't cost a penny.
Change the policy of banning gay scouts.
It's time to take on the national organization's decision to ban gays. Here in Massachusetts, I've been approached about having my sons join the scouts. With a wink and a promise, I'm told that no one around here would ever entertain banning a gay scout.
Yet, technically, as a lesbian mom, I would not be allowed to participate in any of the activities. Sorry, the boys' dads are gay, too. And none of us are too keen on having our kids join a group that has fought legally for the right to exclude their parents.
Not to mention I find the oath a little creepy -- obey the Scout Law? On my honor? Duty to country? Sounds like a military recruitment poster. I do like the part of the Scout law that requires being clean. After cutting my son Jake's nails last night, I think clean is a good thing to have emphasized from every direction.
A word of advice to the Boy Scouts of America -- laws are changing. Your history is of a group grown from the roots of a progressive movement of the early 1900s, concerned with the social welfare of boys.
Pointing to the poor children who will be denied services is a poorly thought out choice. Instead of welcoming all boys, you will punish needy members. The irony is you have thousands of gay scouts participating right now. Local groups ignore the policy left and right, not just in Massachusetts but also all over the country.
Wake up, Boy Scouts -- hate costs money.
While there are many gays who are religious and thus less interested in religious discrimination in the BSA, the gay community must realize that by pushing this issue under the carpet, they are doing the same thing to atheists as others are doing to gays. That is, allowing a double standard to exist that permits discrimination against some while not permitting it against others.
We're stronger fighting this issue together and we will ultimately all sink or swim together.
Cradle of Liberty independently adopted a non-discrimination policy which was for some time posted on their website. They took the steps necessary to be in compliance, and it was that way when my son joined. (I checked, it was one of my biggest worries about him joining.) However, since then, 'national' has told them that they can't have that policy -- national said, in essence, get rid of it or you're not Boy Scouts anymore.
I can tell you now that a lot of us are pretty frustrated (and not quietly so) with 'national,' who is making problems for us without offering any solutions. No one from national has come down from on high with $200K (not that I've heard) to finance those programs that the kids will be missing out on now as a result of the fact that national mandated that Cradle of Liberty remove their independently-adopted non-discrimination policy.
Say what you want about BSA as a whole, and I might even agree with you, but sneering (as some commenters have) at the people who are stuck in the middle, trying to do the right thing by both the truth -- by putting in that policy that got struck down -- and the kids and not get kicked out of national is just wrong and doesn't help the discourse at all. The truth is, that money DOES have to come from somewhere, and the Scouts at a local level are not just rolling in cash. I don't know anything about the money in TX one way or the other.
Do you really think that by forcing the scouts to spend more resources is in the best interests of the city? So now a kid from south Philly has to spend $50 instead of $10 to join the scouts - isn't that productive?
What is it about progressives that cause them to loose all perspective?
That the boy scouts is a haven for such kids is what makes the national policy so painful. And that most chapters simply ignore, rather than challenge, the policy is wrong.
Dante said, the worst part of hell is reserved for those who did nothing in the face of wrong.
Best,
Kim
Fellow Huffpo Blogger
Girl Scouts sell cookies.
Girl Scouts do not have an anti-gay policy.
And as for the City of Brotherly Love, as stated below, Cradle of Liberty DID adopt a non-discrimination policy of its own accord but national struck it down.
One's sexuality is deeply personal and no one's business. Please don't make it mine.
Different strokes for different folks. I don't hate. I'm just not interested.
If the city of Philadelphia were going to do a total review of all tenants in the building and "adjust" the rent of each one based on uniform criteria, I would be 100% in favor of that. The building in question seems to be Wigard Ave. House, hardly worth a rental of $200,000 per year. I am not a resident of Philadelphia, so I may not have a good grasp on property values in the park system. However, with rent in that range for a building like that, I would strongly encourage the scouts to "let the city have it" and find more hospitable accommodations elsewhere.
I think it would be quite interesting to see the complete list of tenants and rental fees. Then we could find out if the Fairmount Park Commission is really being Fair, or simply engaging in a little political pressure through landlord influence.
c. krueger