Scouts Expel Troops That Refuse to Ostracize Gays

Washington Post 27jan01

Chicago -- On the strength of a U.S. Supreme Court decision permitting the exclusion of homosexuals from scouting, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America lifted the charters this week of seven Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops whose sponsoring organizations said they could not abide by a no-gays rule.

The troops from Oak Park, Ill., believed to be among the first expelled since the court's ruling in June, were told they must disband by Feb. 28 unless their sponsors drop their opposition to the no-gays rule.

"We had this fundamental conflict between the way we operate and the way they operate," said Irene Clute, president of an Oak Park Parent Teacher Organization chapter that sponsors scout troops.

The ruling by the regional Des Plaines Valley Boy Scouts Council, which was made after consultation with the Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas, affects 40 to 50 members in each of the seven troops.

Gregg Schields, BSA national spokesman, said the expelled troops "are allowed to participate if they want to agree to values held by the Boy Scouts of America. If they don't agree, no one is forcing them to participate."

The national and regional Boy Scout offices picked for a showdown on the gay rights issue a village that for years has been in the forefront of supporting gay rights. Oak Park, a national leader in enacting gay rights laws,

in 1997 became the first municipality in Illinois to pass a domestic partnership registration program.

Clute said yesterday that Scout leaders and PTA officials had met to discuss the planned lifting of troop charters by the BSA and decided to stand firm against the policy on gays. While it will be up to individual troops to decide whether to seek new sponsors, she said, her impression is that strong opposition remains to the national council's position.

"Some of the kids, on their own, said that if this is the position the Boy Scouts of America is going to take, we don't want to be Scouts," Clute said. "There is a real conflict here for a lot of families."

Irene Szinavel, Des Plaines Council executive officer, said in a letter to PTA leaders Wednesday, "There is an inconsistency between your position and the position of the Boy Scouts of America concerning avowed homosexuals as Scout leaders." She said that in defining its "A scout is reverent" motto, the Scout organization "must be guided by the position of its religious partners . . . which share a common, firmly held belief that sexual relations should occur only within the bonds of marriage."

Boy Scouts dump seven Ill. packs and troops

AP 26jan01

OAK PARK, Ill. -- The Boy Scouts of America rejected the charters of seven Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops because their sponsors challenged the group's policy of excluding gay members and leaders.

The seven were sponsored by parent-teacher organizations. Two other school-sponsored Scout groups found new sponsors.

The groups were believed to be among the first to lose their charters because of the policy. The 40 to 50 members in each group will be out of scouting unless their sponsors drop their opposition to the no-gays policy by Feb. 28.

``They are allowed to participate if they want to agree to values held by the Boy Scouts of America,'' said Gregg Fields, the organization's national spokesman. ``If they don't agree, no one is forcing them to participate. It wouldn't be fair to the millions of members and families in the organization to allow people to pick and choose between the values and beliefs of the organization.''

The sponsors of the Oak Park packs and troops said they couldn't abide by the no-gays rule because of village ordinances and school policies that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.

``This collides with our beliefs,'' said Caroline Newberry-Schwartz, District 97 PTO Council co-president.

Ross Brinkman, committee chairman of a Cub Scout pack, said he agrees. He plans to pull his two sons out of scouting.

``Many people move to Oak Park because of its diversity, because they want to raise their kids in a diverse place,'' Brinkman said. ``We want them to understand this is how we live. We can't change our lives for Boy Scouts.''

Oak Park in 1968 was the first municipality in the nation to pass an open-housing ordinance, which barred racial discrimination in the buying and selling of homes.