News
2005-07-27
Senate: Scouts
can use military bases despite antigay policy
The
U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to allow U.S. military bases
to continue hosting Boy Scouts events, responding to
The
U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to allow U.S. military bases
to continue hosting Boy Scouts events, responding to
lawsuits and a federal court ruling aimed at severing
relationships between the government and the youth
group over its antigay policies. The vote came one day after
four adult Scout leaders were killed on the opening day of
the National Scout Jamboree at the Army's Fort A.P.
Hill in Bowling Green, Va., when a tent pole
apparently struck a power line.
In a 98-0 vote,
the Senate approved the provision as part of massive bill
setting Defense Department policy for next year. Senate
majority leader Bill Frist, a former Boy Scout who
sponsored the Senate provision, said it is necessary
to push back on a spate of lawsuits to limit Boy Scout
activities on government property. The provision adopted
Tuesday says Boy Scouts should be treated the same as
other national youth organizations. Frist said that
the provision "removes any doubt that federal
agencies may welcome Scouts to hold meetings, go camping on
federal property, or hold scouting events and public
forums" on government property.
In 1999 the ACLU
of Illinois filed a lawsuit claiming that
the Pentagon's sponsorship of such Boy Scout activities
violates the First Amendment. The ACLU argues that
direct government sponsorship of the group amounts to
discrimination. Civil liberties advocates have
assailed the Boy Scouts organization because it bars openly
gay leaders and compels members to swear an oath of
duty to God.
On June 22, U.S.
district judge Blanche Manning ruled in the ACLU's
favor, saying the Pentagon can't spend millions of dollars
to sponsor Boy Scout events. She said in an earlier
ruling that the government spent between $6 million
and $8 million to host the Jamboree on a military base
in 1997 and 2001. The House in November overwhelmingly
passed a nonbinding resolution that recognized the Boy
Scouts organization for its public service efforts and
condemned legal efforts to limit government ties to
the group, which has 3.2 million members.
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