Boy Scouts of America: Discrimination, Bigotry, and Prejudice

Alabama: Boy Scouts Padding Numbers?
The Boy Scouts, an organization that won't admit gays and atheists because they can't be moral enough, is being investigated by the FBI for having padded the numbers of members. The reason for the lying and fraud is unknown, but may be connected to getting higher funding from groups like the United Way.

American Legion Defends 'Moral Values' of Bigotry, Prejudice
Keeping with recent tradition, the American Legion continues to defend not only the bigotry of the Boy Scouts of America, but also the ability of the government to support that bigotry.

American Legion Stands Up Against Atheists, Gays
The federal government is being prevented from sponsoring Boy Scout troops because the BSA discriminates against atheists and gays. The government isn't allowed to participate in such discrimination, but those who are bigoted against gays and atheists think that such discrimination is appropriate.

Boy Scout Official Charged with Child Porn
Douglas S. Smith was the Boy Scouts of America's director of programming. He was chairman of the Scout's Youth Protection League, responsible for alerting scout leaders to the dangers of predators on the Internet. Smith has defended the Scouts' bigoted policies against gays. He's also now been caught with child pornography on this computer.

Boy Scouts to Pull Charters from Government Entities
The Boy Scouts of America will be removing their charters from all public schools and, it seems, all other governmental organizations. The reason is that the ACLU sent them a letter promising to bring lawsuits against schools that underwrite the discriminatory practices of the BSA. Religious conservatives are up in arms over the elimination of state-backing for their private prejudices.

Businesses Cutting Ties with Boy Scouts
Government agencies aren't the only ones separating themselves from the Boy Scouts. Many businesses are also cutting ties because they don't want to work with a group that discriminates against gays and atheists like the BSA does. It makes good business sense in a pluralistic culture, but BSA defenders aren't happy.

Court: Boy Scouts' Lease is Unconstitutional
Already fighting a losing battle to retain a lease for Balboa Park in San Diego, the Boy Scouts have now been informed by a judge that their lease of an aquatics center on city-owned land on Fiesta Island is also unconstitutional. The reason: the Boy Scouts is fundamentally a religious organization.

Defense of (Boy Scout) Bigotry Act
Efforts to force the government not to support Boy Scouts' bigotry and discrimination is creating the predictable backlash. Senate Republicans are hoping to pass legislation that would assert that no federal law, directive, rule, or instruction would prevent any federal agency from supporting the Boy Scouts.

Discrimination and Bigotry Necessary for Boy Scouts
Why do the Boy Scouts discriminate against gays and atheists? Apparently, it's necessary to do so in order to survive. The Canadian Boy Scouts are struggling right now and may fold; some attribute this to the fact that they are more inclusive and accepting than the Boy Scouts of America.

Florida City to Fund & Support Bigotry, Discrimination
Most local governments have stopped funding and supporting the Boy Scouts because of that organization's bigoted and discriminatory policies towards atheists and gays. This is proper because no government agency should send the message that such bigotry and discrimination are acceptable, even if they are legal. Delray Beach in Florida, however, is seriously considering doing just that.

Hans Zeiger: Boy Scout for Religious Fascism?
Some of those who defend the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance do so by saying that it is devoid of any real religious content. Others, however, are more open and honest about the fact that it creates an essential connection between real patriotism and a particular sort of religious belief.

James Dale v. Boy Scouts of America
From the Christianity Guide: The New Jersey Supreme Court rules that the BSA violated the law when they expelled a scout leader because he is gay.

Michigan: Boy Scout Recruiting Challenged
In Michigan, an atheist challenging how Boy Scouts are allowed to recruit in public schools has taken his case to the state's Supreme Court. John Scalise argues that the school's policy favors religion and religious discrimination, discriminating against nonreligious students.

Misleading Defense of Boy Scouts' Bigotry
There are a lot of people in America who support the Boy Scouts. When they attempt to support the Scouts' policies of discrimination, however, they almost never do so honestly. This is to be expected because most American's don't want the government to participate in religious or sexual discrimination, even if through outside agencies.

New York: Council to Keep Boy Scout Troop
The Village of Castleton in New York charters a Boy Scout troop and has been told that this opens them to a lawsuit because they shouldn't be sponsoring a group that discriminates on the basis of religion or sexuality. Government is supposed to encourage equality, after all, but the politicians are adamant that they will continue to send messages of exclusion, prejudice, and bigotry.

Oregon: Court Backs Atheist Mother Against Scouts
Nancy Powell sued the Portland school district in 1998, objecting to how the Boy Scouts are allowed to recruit in public schools despite discriminating on the basis of religion. Now, Oregon's state Court of Appeals agrees that there is "substantial evidence" that the district discriminated against atheist students by allowing the Scouts in to recruit.

Oregon: Excluding Boy Scouts from Public Schools
One of the problems facing the Boy Scouts is that their discrimination against atheists and gays makes it difficult for the government to help them recruit or endorse their group. It's legal for private groups to discriminate, but not for the state to help or encourage that discrimination. Thus, recruitment in public schools is made harder.

Oregon Republicans Call for Public Support of Scout Bigotry
Republicans are generally staunch supporters of the Boy Scouts of America. Sure, the Scouts bigoted against and discriminate against gays and atheists, but that isn't something that Republicans generally seem to disapprove of. Thus, it's not surprising that the Oregon Republican Party has passed a resolution asking public officials to support and fund this bigotry and discrimination.

Protesters Confront Scouts of Ban on Gays, Atheists
In Texas, the Boy Scouts of America is holding it annual national meeting. Critics have also gathered there to protest the Boy Scouts' bigoted, discriminatory attitudes towards gays and atheists. These protests won't cause the Scouts to change, but it will keep reminding people that the Scouts aren't as good and moral as they portray themselves.

Protests at Boy Scout National Convention
The National Convention of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was in Chicago May 19-21. Even as they dealt with business inside, a number of people protested outside. Although they represented different groups, they were united by one thing: they all wanted the BSA to change their anti-gay and anti-atheist policies.

Scout Supports Nondiscrimination, is Kicked Out
It seems that there is just no limit to the bigotry and prejudice at the Boy Scouts of America. Not only will they exclude atheists and gays because such people aren't sufficiently moral and can't make good role models, but they will eve kick out any scouts and any members of those scouts' families who publicly object to the BSA policies and who join groups that want to change the Scouts.

Texas: Sentenced to the Boy Scouts
In Houston, a judge has been sentencing juvenile offenders to spend time in the Boy Scouts. The fact that the group discriminates against gays and atheists doesn't appear to matter to Kent Adams; for all I know, that may be a selling point as far as he is concerned.