LA Urged To Cut Ties With Boy Scouts Affiliate

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/02/022708bsa.htm

A group that administers youth programs for the Los Angeles Police and Fire Departments is little more than a shill organization for the Boy Scouts of America and should be dropped the city has been told.

In a letter to Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, Lambda Legal says that the city honor needs to honor its own nondiscrimination policies and cut ties with Learning for Life.

The Police and Fire Department have contracted with "Learning for Life" for about 45 years to run the youth programs but the relationship has recently been questioned by the Police Commission.

Learning for Life is a national program that provides career education for youth. While its mission statement says LFL does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or religion, it is essentially an arm of Boy Scouts of America, which does.

[LeftCoast]

1. I think it's great that they're looking at this issue

I think as a private organization the BSA can discriminate if they chose, but they shouldn't expect to use public property or get public funds if they do. It's sad, because the people getting hurt by this are the kids.

[Tyo]

2. The BSA is a poster child for hypocrisy

I have never viewed the Boy Scouts, at least as the organization exists in the US, as anything other than a non-denominational church youth group in disguise. And neither have they if you look at their record rather than listen to their rhetoric. They are a poster child for those religious groups that play down or deny the religious connection when it might interfere with their free access to public funds and accommodation.

Is is possible for a Buddhist or a Taoist to be a Boy Scout in America? Neither acknowledges the existence of a "higher power" in the form of a deity but according to the BSA the acceptance of a some sort of deity or god is a key criterion for membership.

[Creideiki]

3. My boy scout troop

was more of a non-religious bombardbment group that also went camping and hiking a couple times a month. Then we got criticized from the outside for not producing enough merit badges and higher-level scouts and then it stopped being even fun for playing bombardment once a week. I didn't last a year after that.

[Chovexani]

4. The Boy Scouts as an org are incredibly hostile to non-Christians

To the point where Pagans at least have started our own scouting organization, called Spiral Scouts. They're pretty active in CA from what I hear.