JUNE 24, 2002

BOY SCOUTS
Two-year anniversary of Supreme Court case

Two years have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court's June 28 ruling that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)could exclude gay persons from its employ. Across the country, schools, businesses and congregations continue to debate, reaffirm and sometimes end sponsorship of troops because of the Boy Scouts' policy on gay leaders. Many religious bodies are split on the issue. While national organizations may take one stand, local congregations are free to make their own decisions. How have schools, businesses and congregations that sponsor troops in your area reaffirmed or changed their sponsorships since the ruling? What do parents, Scout leaders and Scouts say?

Why it matters
Sixty-five percent of the nation's Boy Scout troops are sponsored by religious organizations. The Boy Scouts' policy against gay leaders is based on their belief in "traditional values" that include condemning homosexuality. Issues related to gays and lesbians divide, and even threaten to split, many religious denominations. Those same issues continue to play out in the public square as government funding of groups such as the Salvation Army and other faith-based organizations are debated.

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Background
• James Dale, a former assistant scoutmaster in Matawan, N.J., was ousted from his position as assistant scoutmaster after a 1990 newspaper article identified him as being gay. The case, Dale vs. Boy Scouts of America, went all the way to the Supreme Court. Read a summary of the case. A statement on the Court ruling by the BSA can be found here.
• Religious groups and institutions filing amicus briefs in support of Dale include branches of the Episcopal Church, Reform Judaism, the United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association and deans of several divinity schools. A full list can be found here.
• Religious groups and institutions filing amicus briefs in support of the Boy Scouts include The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Southern Baptist Convention and the U. S. Catholic Conference. A complete list can be found here.
• Writing for the majority, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist said that making the BSA accept gays would unfairly force them to send a message about homosexuality that they do not wish to send. Complete decisions and dissents can be found here.
• The United Methodist Church found itself split on the issue, with groups within the denomination filing amicus briefs on both sides. The denomination's pro-Dale statement can be found here.
• The Union of American Hebrew Congregations www.uahc.org and the Central Committee of American Rabbis, which represent Reform Jewish congregations, is the only religious denomination to officially sever its relationship with the BSA and to encourage its member congregations to disband its scout troops.
• Other Jewish denominations and organizations have backed the BSA decision, including the National Jewish Committee on Scouting, the Rabbinical Council of America, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Jewish organizations sponsor 277 of those troops, with about 7,187 members. Contact Rabbi Peter Hyman, chairman of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting, at 616-356-5165.
• Read a New York Times article about how corporate support of the BSA has taken a dive since the decision. Companies that have withdrawn funds to the group include Chase Manhattan Bank, Textron Inc, and WHO.
• School districts across the country have also banned the Scouts from meeting on their property.
• More than 3.3 million children and 1.4 million adults participate in the BSA. Read a more complete breakdown here. More than half of all Scout troops - 65% - are sponsored by religious organizations. Factsheets on scouting in religious organizations can be found here.
• In Feb. 2002, BSA leadership voted to reaffirm its belief that homosexuals have no place in scouting.

Hot sources

• Gregg Shields is the national spokesman for the BSA. He has acknowledged some fallout from the decision but holds that the BSA is thriving and that its relationship with religious organizations is stronger because the Dale decision "fits in well with their belief structure." Contact 214-443-7580, gregg.shields@edelman.com.
• Rev. Lou Sheldon is the founder of the Traditional Values Coalition. He heads a 43,000-member coalition of denominations that fights the "homosexual agenda." Sheldon, a Presbyterian, says the Dale decision is primarily an issue for mainline Protestant churches, but he cautions that overruling it could cause conservative factions within liberal denominations to break off from their parent organizations. Contact 202-547-8570 (Mon-Thurs); 714-520-0300 (Fri.); alafferty@traditionalvalues.org (Mon-Thurs); scarmona@traditionalvalues.org (Fri.).
• Bishop Earnest Lyght is president of the General Commission on United Methodist Men, United Methodist Church, which filed an amicus brief in support of the BSA. A spokesman said they would have "no comment" for reporters because they have "moved on," but another source inside the UMC said Bishop Lyght, who is on their directory board, would be willing to comment. Contact 914-684-6922.
• Dr. Richard Land is the chairman of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Southern Baptists filed an amicus brief in support of the Boy Scouts in the Dale case. Contact 202-547-8105.
• Brian Levinson is a communications officer for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The UAHC is the only denomination to take a national stance against the BSA. Contact 212-650-4221, blevinson@uahc.org.
• Linda Hodges is vice-president and national religious outreach coordinator for Scouting for All. Scouting For All has asked all faith groups to cut their ties with the BSA on the basis of its discriminatory policies. Hodges says she has seen the Dale decision split many denominations, especially in the mainline Protestant churches. Contact 510-418-2488, Linstar@pacbell.net.
• Chris Hampton is a spokesperson for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. Lambda was legal counsel for Dale. Contact 212-809-8585.
• John Hurley is a spokesperson for the Unitarian-Universalist Association (UUA). He says most UUA congregations that sponsored scout troops have disbanded them, while other congregations no longer allow local troops to meet in their buildings. The UUA filed an amicus brief in support of Dale. Contact 617-742-2100, ext. 131, jhurley@uua.org.
• Mike Otterson is director of media relations for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The LDS Church sponsors more scouting troops than any other denomination. In an amicus brief filed in support of the BSA, the LDS Church said it would be forced to withdraw from scouting entirely if the organization accepted openly gay men. Contact 801-240-1111, ottersonmr@ldschurch.org.

In your region

State by state
• The scouting councils of New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boston and Los Angeles have asked the BSA's national leadership to change the gay exclusion policy.
• Public schools in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Diego, New York City, Chapel Hill, N.C. and Framingham, MA., have taken actions including eliminating the Boy Scouts' special privilege to distribute literature in schools and ending sponsorship of BSA troops.
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In the Midwest
• Seven Cub Scout packs in Oak Park, Illinois were expelled from the BSA for refusing to discriminate against gays. Chicago's school district bans BSA from distributing literature on school grounds and ended sponsorship of BSA troops.
• Minneapolis's public schools have ended sponsorship of local BSA troops.

In the Northeast
• In New Hampshire, the United Church of Christ at Dartmouth College has told the Hanover chapter of the Boy Scouts of America that it can no longer meet at the church because of the BSA policy against gays. Church leaders say the Boy Scouts of America's position is inconsistent with the congregation's policy, which welcomes everyone, including gays and lesbians, to "join in the full life and ministry of the church."
• New York City's scouting council has asked the national BSA to change its policy on gays and the school district has ended sponsorship of BSA troops.
• Boston's scouting council has asked national BSA office to change its policy and the Framingham's school district has ended sponsorship of troops. Three Unitarian-Universalist congregations, in Fairhaven, Worcester and Winchester have disbanded their scouting troops over the decision.
• Philadelphia's scouting council has asked the national BSA organization to consider changing its policy towards gays.

In other states
• In Florida, North Carolina and Washington state, the United Way has eliminated funding to local BSA groups. In Broward County, Florida, the school board unanimously voted to oust 60 BSA troops that met on school grounds. A U.S. district court reversed them. In Coral Gables, Florida, Temple Judea, a Reform congregation, is debating what to do about the Boy Scout troop it sponsors.
• In California, the Dale case led to the formation of Scouting For All, a nonprofit that provides information for those protesting the policy, both within the Boy Scouts and on the outside. San Diego and San Francisco school districts have ended sponsorship of BSA troops, and the scouting councils of San Francisco and Los Angeles have asked the BSA national office to change the policy against gays.