After failing to evict the Boy Scouts of America from a city-owned building it had been leasing to the anti-gay group for $1 per year, the City of Philadelphia has reached an alternative agreement with the Scouts: Sell ’em the damn building they want so bad.
Saying the Boy Scouts violated the city’s charter prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination, Philadelphia tried ousting them from their 80-year-old home, which the Scouts received for just $1 annually. Except BSA fought back and convinced a jury casting them out would violate the group’s right to free association. So rather than appeal, Philly is instead going to give the city-owned building to the Cradle of Liberty Council (a regional BSA group) for a cool $500,000.
Only problem? The building is valued at $1.1 million. Then again, the Scouts are going to release the city from its $1 million legal bill, which the city was ordered to pay when they lost at trial.
City officials have an interesting way of looking at the settlement: City Council lawyer Jason Gosselin says, “At the end of the day, the Boy Scouts will be writing a check to the city, rather than the other way around.” Technically true! But it also means the city is out $600,000. “This is a better solution than having to go through an appeals process,” he adds, which could cost more than the $600k. (The City Council must approve the sale, which it’s expected to do Thursday.)
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
But whatever happened to that clause in the city’s lease that allowed them to end BSA’s rent agreement for any reason? Sounds like that route would’ve cost a whole lot less.
gregger
Just another stupid fucking reaction from Philly.
tallskin2
I can’t believe the difference between the Scouts here in the UK and the Scouts over there in the USA. The US scouts are so determined to discriminate against gays, whereas here in the UK they have a full anti-discrimination policy.
The difference must, once again, lie in the lack of religion here in the UK and the fanatical taliban-like homophobia of US religion.
Here’s what the UK Scouting document entitled – “Gay adults in Scouting”
It’s OK to be an adult in Scouting and be gay!
Throughout the Association there are adults in Scouting who are gay, lesbian or bisexual. Some are open about their sexual orientation others not, either way it is a personal choice which is totally acceptable.
A leader’s sexual orientation has no bearing on their suitability to fulfil a role in Scouting. Whatever role an adult chooses to take in Scouting, they must always act in accordance with the Associations Policies and Rules.
Appointments sub-committees must implement the Equal Opportunities policy in accordance with Policy Organisation and Rules.
Equal Opportunities Policy
The Scout Association has, for many years, had an Equal Opportunities Policy. This policy sets out the Scout Association’s view on such matters including the acceptance and support of being gay and having an adult role in Scouting.
“There is no basis on which any volunteer offering his or her services in any capacity can be refused an appointment in, or Membership of, the Movement on the grounds of heterosexual or homosexual orientation. Homosexuality has been perceived as incompatible with Scouting by some people (both within and outside The Scout Association) on the basis of a presumed link between homosexuality and paedophilia. This perception has been used to deny homosexual people the chance to work with young people as Scout Leaders. There is no link between homosexuality and paedophilia, and therefore there is no justification for restricting Membership on this basis.”
The Scout Association guidelines are clear, non- negotiable and support individual members regardless of their sexual orientation.
Attention should be drawn to the Child Protection yellow card where is makes it clear that a sexual relationship between an adult leader in position of authority and a youth member is unacceptable.
Clicken
Gay-accepting or not, wanting to be a Boy Scout is pretty embarrassing period.
Cam
@tallskin2:
The Scouts at one point looked like they were not going to discriminate, however, a huge portion of their members were associates through the Mormon or Catholic churches and both those organizations threatened to leave, so the Scouts went the discrimination route, and as a consequence they have lost membershipt elsewhere, so it’s self fullfilling since now the majority of Scouts are from those groups.
Tyler
@tallskin2: You make an interesting point.
When it comes to sexuality, nations such as Great Britain are more sophisticated. A parallel of gays being accepted to serve in the armed forces or participating in Scouts’ programs is an example.
What is intriguing to me is that we never hear a peep from the Girl Scouts about lesbians being an issue in their organization. It seems that it’s the “strong, straight, macho” American males who are so petrified of gays.
rainfish2000
The Cub and Boy Scouts of the Fourth Reich (aka – The un-United States of America)…
[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jCT9n9hItmA/TLxKWvFsDfI/AAAAAAAAAdk/Ja8xMl4IThM/s1600/The-new-face-of-the-BSA-CSA.jpg[/img]
Of course, the BSA is more subtle than that, using such ambiguous phraseology as: “(I pledge to be) …morally “straight”. Of course, “straight”, the operative word here, was NOT used as a colloquialism to denote a heterosexual at the time the oath was written. But then the BSA officials now interpret “morally straight” as some kind of semantically twisted justification for rejecting at least ten per cent of the human race.
And then there is the phrase “duty to god”, which appears on the second line of the oath which the oath-taker mechanically delivers in rote allegiances to, for example, a “god” and country, etc.. The type of “god” is not identified by his/her/its name or religious affiliation in the oath. It could be the Hindu Elephant-headed, multi-armed god, Ganesha, which is perfectly legitimate of course, or the Egyptian cat goddess, Bast – to whom I sometimes pray after I see an occasional mouse in my home. But to be fair to the Boy Scouts of America, adherents of the church of Satan should also feel welcomed with open arms as well as any other god-cult, because, as the BSA has proudly and officially proclaimed, they do not discriminate against anyone who, at the very least, believes in some kind of “Deity”.
So, there you have it, when the BSA is not busy bashing gays, they are purging their membership of Atheists for rejecting the supernatural and for clinging to their very unpopular atheistic rational ways. Hell, the BSA even kicks out harmless little Agnostics whose only “sin” is that they still hold out hope that there might be a god, but they’re just not quite ready to commit yet and run out to buy a pair of Sunday shoes.
So, take heart, if you or a member of your family are devoted followers of the Indian thug-gee death cult of Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction, you just might be Cub Scout, Boy Scout or Republican material.
…For the rest of the essay go to: http://rainfish2000.blogspot.com/2010/10/cub-and-boy-scouts-of-fourth-reich-aka.html
the crustybastard
Important facts omitted:
This specific scout council really did try to have an antidiscrimination policy.
Then the assholes at the Texas BSA mothership made them get dump it, which put them crosswise with Philly’s nondiscrimination policy, which led to the litigation that the BSA won pursuant to SCOTUS’s legally, intellectually and morally retarded Dale holding.
I’m not approving BSA’s bigotry in any way. I’m not approving this council’s willingness to knuckle under.
I’m saying that this whole mess got started because this council was TRYING to do the right thing. No sense in being punitive for that.
rainfish2000
[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jCT9n9hItmA/TLxKWvFsDfI/AAAAAAAAAdk/Ja8xMl4IThM/s1600/The-new-face-of-the-BSA-CSA.jpg[/img]
ewe
Bill Oreilly paid off his victim of alleged sexual assault. Philadelphia just uses the taxpayers money.