Press Release
Humanists Hail Courageous Scouting Stand on Gays
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Washington, D.C., May 29, 2003) Today a local arm of the Boy Scouts of America decided to
reject its parent organization’s anti-gay policies. The Cradle of Liberty
Council, which has tens of thousands of members in the Philadelphia
metropolitan area, voted unanimously to prohibit discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation. “We at the American Humanist Association welcome the
Philadelphia Council’s decision and hope it is a springboard for making the
BSA truly non-discriminatory by welcoming Humanists and other nontheistic
scouts,” said AHA executive director Tony Hileman.
In recent years the BSA’s membership prohibition on gays and atheists has
come under increased scrutiny. In 2000 the Supreme Court upheld the BSA’s
right as a private organization to discriminate on the basis of sexual
orientation, but many local and state governments still provide tacit and
material support to this private organization, raising concerns that public
monies may be illegally supporting discrimination.
In November 2002 the Chief Seattle Council forced atheist Eagle Scout Darrell
Lambert from the organization because he refused to express belief in a god.
The Girl Scouts have no such prohibition, nor do scouting organizations in
most countries.
Hileman remarked at the time, “This is the kind of lesson the BSA leadership
is teaching young men: despite devotion to a cause, despite dedication to
others, despite accomplished service, if supernatural beliefs differ, then
loyalty is cast aside. Creed clearly trumps deed.”
Today Hileman said, “With its vote, the Cradle of Liberty Council showed its
dedication to rational thinking and common decency despite the vitriol sure
to come from BSA headquarters and other anti-gay activists.
“Because of this demonstrated commitment, the AHA now urges the Council, and
the entire BSA, to expand its nondiscrimination policy to include nontheists
like Darrell Lambert. Humanists have long been convenient targets of
criticism and social ostracism, and the time is long overdue to acknowledge
that we too deserve the acceptance that others have been rightfully
accorded.”
# # #
The American Humanist Association is the oldest
and largest Humanist organization in the nation. The AHA is dedicated to
ensuring a voice for those with a positive outlook, based on reason and
experience, which embraces all of humanity.
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