[Roundtable] Battle Brews Between Boy Scouts, ACLU
Scott Mueller
scott.a.mueller@mchsi.com
Mon, 20 Jun 2005 20:11:19 -0500
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<http://www.wesh.com/family/4628177/detail.html>
http://www.wesh.com/family/4628177/detail.html
WESH.com
Battle Brews Between Boy Scouts, ACLU
POSTED: 7:11 am EDT June 20, 2005
UPDATED: 9:00 am EDT June 20, 2005
APOPKA, Fla. -- There's a battle brewing between the American Civil
Liberties Union and the Boy Scouts of America.=20
=20
It's a dispute that has public schools and other government agencies =
caught
in the middle and potentially facing lawsuits, WESH 2 News reported.=20
=09
For many years, schools have sponsored Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout =
packs
and provided space for them to hold meetings and activities, but the =
ACLU is
now threatening to sue individual schools and school districts if they
continue to sponsor the scouts. The news comes as most scout leaders =
and
volunteers are busy running day camps. While they're trying to focus on
summer activities, they're also scrambling to contact churches, police
unions, Elks lodges and American Legion halls to find out if those =
groups
would be willing to sponsor troops and packs.=20
The ACLU says public schools, police and fire departments and military =
bases
have no business being legally responsible for the actions and =
activities of
the Boy Scouts because they're a Christian-based organization, which
violates constitutional separation of church and state.=20
Scout leaders disagree, but are working to find other sponsors to =
protect
schools from lawsuits.=20
"It's costly, and it's time consuming. But right now, it's a necessary
battle that we're going to fight in an attempt to keep the local public
schools and other organizations, not in the middle of that," Boy Scouts
representative Bill Gosselin said.=20
Eighty-six of the 950 Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs in Central
Florida are chartered by public schools or government agencies. They are
quickly trying to find new sponsors. Until they do, they may not be =
allowed
to conduct scouting activities.=20
Even though schools may not be allowed to sponsor a scout group, they =
can
still allow scouts to meet on school property. They cannot be =
responsible
for helping select leaders or supervise the safety and activities of =
scouts.
<http://images.ibsys.com/sh/images/ibs_icon/email.gif> To comment on =
this
story, send an e-mail to Greg Fox <mailto:gfox@hearst.com> .=20
Copyright 2005 by WESH.COM <mailto:orlnews@ibsys.com> . All rights =
reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or =
redistributed.
<http://pix01.revsci.net/C05503/a3/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/0/noscript.gif>=20
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<DIV id=3Dalpha>
<DIV class=3DStory>
<H1><A href=3D"http://www.wesh.com/family/4628177/detail.html"><FONT=20
size=3D3>http://www.wesh.com/family/4628177/detail.html</FONT></A></H1>
<H1>WESH.com</H1></DIV>
<DIV class=3DStory>
<H1 class=3DHeadline>Battle Brews Between Boy Scouts, ACLU</H1>
<P>
<DIV class=3Dposted><TEXT id=3Dtxt_posted>POSTED:</TEXT> 7:11 am EDT =
June 20,=20
2005</DIV>
<DIV class=3Dupdated><TEXT id=3Dtxt_updated>UPDATED:</TEXT> 9:00 am EDT =
June 20,=20
2005</DIV>
<P></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody><!--startindex--><B class=3DDateline>APOPKA, Fla. =
--=20
</B>There's a battle brewing between the American Civil Liberties Union =
and the=20
Boy Scouts of America. </DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>It's a dispute that has public schools and other =
government=20
agencies caught in the middle and potentially facing lawsuits, WESH 2 =
News=20
reported. </DIV>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
<P class=3DStoryBody></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>For many years, schools have sponsored Boy Scout =
troops and=20
Cub Scout packs and provided space for them to hold meetings and =
activities, but=20
the ACLU is now threatening to sue individual schools and school =
districts if=20
they continue to sponsor the scouts. The news comes as most =
scout=20
leaders and volunteers are busy running day camps. While they're trying =
to focus=20
on summer activities, they're also scrambling to contact churches, =
police=20
unions, Elks lodges and American Legion halls to find out if those =
groups would=20
be willing to sponsor troops and packs. </DIV>
<P class=3DStoryBody></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>The ACLU says public schools, police and fire =
departments=20
and military bases have no business being legally responsible for the =
actions=20
and activities of the Boy Scouts because they're a Christian-based =
organization,=20
which violates constitutional separation of church and state. </DIV>
<P class=3DStoryBody></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>Scout leaders disagree, but are working to find =
other=20
sponsors to protect schools from lawsuits. </DIV>
<P class=3DStoryBody></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>"It's costly, and it's time consuming. But right =
now, it's=20
a necessary battle that we're going to fight in an attempt to keep the =
local=20
public schools and other organizations, not in the middle of that," Boy =
Scouts=20
representative Bill Gosselin said. </DIV>
<P class=3DStoryBody></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>Eighty-six of the 950 Boy Scout troops and Cub =
Scout packs=20
in Central Florida are chartered by public schools or government =
agencies. They=20
are quickly trying to find new sponsors. Until they do, they may not be =
allowed=20
to conduct scouting activities. </DIV>
<P class=3DStoryBody></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody>Even though schools may not be allowed to sponsor =
a scout=20
group, they can still allow scouts to meet on school property. They =
cannot be=20
responsible for helping select leaders or supervise the safety and =
activities of=20
scouts. </DIV>
<P class=3DStoryBody></P>
<DIV class=3DStoryBody><IMG height=3D12 alt=3D""=20
src=3D"http://images.ibsys.com/sh/images/ibs_icon/email.gif" width=3D22 =
border=3D0>=20
<I>To comment on this story, send an e-mail to <A=20
href=3D"mailto:gfox@hearst.com">Greg Fox</A></I>.<!--stopindex--> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DCopyright>
<P align=3Dright><I>Copyright 2005 by <A=20
href=3D"mailto:orlnews@ibsys.com">WESH.COM</A>. All rights reserved. =
This material=20
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or =
redistributed.</I></P></DIV><BR=20
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Date: 6/20/2005
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