[Roundtable] ACLU threat causes Boy Scouts to drop public school ties; churches urged to fill void

[Cub Master Pack 133]

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I don't know how you feel about the ACLU, but I have just about had =
enough
of them.
=20
Scott Mueller
Cubmaster P-133
 =20

To be kept up to date on what is happening in our district and council, =
take
a minute to join the Roundtable mailing list. Just follow this link.
<http://mail.ccmobile.com/mailman/listinfo/roundtable>
http://mail.ccmobile.com/mailman/listinfo/roundtable

=20
The following article is from this site
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=3D20306
=20
ACLU threat causes Boy Scouts to drop public school ties; churches urged =
to
fill void
Mar 9, 2005
By Jeff Robinson=20

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Boy Scouts of America is removing the =
charters of
thousands of scouting units from public schools after an American Civil
Liberties Union threat to sue taxpayer-funded institutions that charter =
BSA
units.

The ACLU sent a letter to the Boy Scouts of America in February =
threatening
legal action against public schools and other governmental agencies that
charter Boy Scout groups on grounds that their sponsorship amounts to
religious discrimination and violates the separation of church and =
state.

Boy Scouts open their meetings by holding three fingers aloft and =
repeating
an oath in which members vow their allegiance to God and country, =
resolve to
help others and commit to keeping themselves morally straight. Central =
to
the BSA's stated mission is character development and values-based
leadership training.

ACLU leaders view these conservative emphases as warrant for legal =
action,
according to documents on the ACLU website.

While BSA is continuing to assess the number of Boy Scout and Cub Scout
units that will be affected, BSA national spokesman Gregg Shields said =
units
whose charters will be pulled from public schools would number in the
thousands. BSA is America's largest youth organization that includes
thousands of units and 1.3 million adult volunteers.

Defending against a wave of ACLU lawsuits would cost schools untold
thousands of dollars, Shields said. Instead of risking financially =
draining
litigation, the BSA is pulling scout units from schools as a matter of
stewardship, he said.=20

"We obviously don't want that [expensive lawsuits against schools] to
happen," Shields said. "Instead, the Boy Scouts have tried to protect =
the
resources of our education partners by moving our charter from public
schools to other community-based organizations such as parent-teacher
organizations or Salvation Army units or nearby religious =
organizations."

Shields said the Boy Scouts of America is counting on community
organizations such as churches to take up the charters of scouting units
that have been removed from public schools and other governmental
organizations.

Removal of a scouting unit's charter from a school will not necessarily
remove its presence from the school, Shields said, noting that groups =
will
still have access to public school facilities; they just won't be =
chartered
by the schools.

"Boy Scout troops will still have the same rights as any other
community-based group to meet in school buildings, but the charter will =
not
be held by the school administration," he said.

"We hope to make this a seamless transition that won't even be noticed =
by
the youth and barely noticed by our 1.3 million generous volunteers who =
give
their time to help American youth," Shields said.=20

Shields said community groups already have begun to fill the void left =
by
the shift from public school charters. While many churches already =
sponsor
Cub Scout packs, Shields urges many others to get involved in all levels =
of
scouting, an institution whose core values can fit well within the =
standards
of most conservative evangelical congregations.

Churches can help in two ways, he said: by seeking to pick up a scout =
unit
charter from a local school or by starting a new scout troop. He pointed =
out
that charters involve very little money and merely provide individual =
units
with an official place to meet and organize their activities.

"[Chartering a scouting unit] is not a complicated process," Shields =
said.
"Many churches find scouting so in line with the mission of the church =
that
they'll use Boy Scouting as an auxiliary to their youth program.... The
values of the Boy Scouts certainly fit well with my church and I think =
they
would most others."

The ACLU's threat also precludes other government organizations such as
police, fire and recreation departments from holding charters for =
scouting
units. BSA will seek groups such as fire and police department =
auxiliaries
to pick up these charters, Shields said. But far more scout units are
chartered by public schools than other governmental agencies, he said.=20

The latest threat of litigation is the latest chapter in a 25-year =
assault
the ACLU has waged against the Boy Scouts. The ACLU has sued BSA 14 =
times
over the past 25 years using similar accusations, Shields said.

The most widely publicized case involved a U.S. Supreme Court decision =
in
2000 upholding a New Jersey troop's removal of an assistant scoutmaster
after it became known that the man was an avowed homosexual. Despite the
legal victory, the ACLU and other scouting opponents have continued =
their
efforts across the country.

Last fall, the ACLU threatened to sue the U.S. Department of Defense for
chartering BSA units, causing the Pentagon to drop its BSA sponsorships. =


By attempting to remove Boy Scouts from public schools, the ACLU is
attempting to undermine an organization that has exerted an =
overwhelmingly
positive influence on millions of school-aged children, Shields said.=20

"For decades, many, many school administrators, teachers and parents =
have
recognized the benefits of having a scouting program in their =
institutions,"
he said. "Those involved in scouting have become better citizens and
students because of the opportunity.

"However, the ACLU has ignored the schools' and the parents' rights to
choose to participate or not in Boy Scouts. No one is forced to join Boy
Scouts. Let's say a child has parents who are atheists. Nobody will =
force
that child to join the Boy Scouts. Most Americans and the vast majority =
of
parents value their freedom to choose [to participate in] the Boy Scouts =
and
[support] the values they stand for."=20



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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial><SPAN class=3D453440823-09032005>I don't know =
how you feel=20
about the ACLU, but I have just about had enough of =
them.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial><SPAN =
class=3D453440823-09032005></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D4><SPAN class=3D453440823-09032005>
<DIV align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial size=3D3>Scott Mueller</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DArial size=3D3>Cubmaster =
P-133</FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dleft><FONT size=3D3><FONT face=3DArial>&nbsp;</FONT> =
</FONT>
<P><FONT size=3D3>To be kept up to date on what is happening in our =
district and=20
council, take a minute to join the Roundtable mailing list. Just follow =
this=20
link. </FONT><A=20
href=3D"http://mail.ccmobile.com/mailman/listinfo/roundtable"><U><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff><FONT=20
size=3D3>http://mail.ccmobile.com/mailman/listinfo/roundtable</FONT></U><=
/FONT></A></P></DIV></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D4><SPAN=20
class=3D453440823-09032005></SPAN></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D4><SPAN class=3D453440823-09032005>The =
following=20
article is from this site <A=20
href=3D"http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?Id=3D20306">http://www.bpnews.ne=
t/bpnews.asp?Id=3D20306</A></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG><FONT=20
size=3D4></FONT></STRONG></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><STRONG><FONT size=3D4>ACLU threat =
causes Boy Scouts=20
to drop public school ties; churches urged to fill =
void<BR></FONT></STRONG><FONT=20
face=3Darial size=3D1>Mar 9, 2005<BR><I>By Jeff Robinson</I> =
</FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT class=3DStoryText>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The Boy Scouts of =
America is=20
removing the charters of thousands of scouting units from public schools =
after=20
an American Civil Liberties Union threat to sue taxpayer-funded =
institutions=20
that charter BSA units.<BR><BR>The ACLU sent a letter to the Boy Scouts =
of=20
America in February threatening legal action against public schools and =
other=20
governmental agencies that charter Boy Scout groups on grounds that =
their=20
sponsorship amounts to religious discrimination and violates the =
separation of=20
church and state.<BR><BR>Boy Scouts open their meetings by holding three =
fingers=20
aloft and repeating an oath in which members vow their allegiance to God =
and=20
country, resolve to help others and commit to keeping themselves morally =

straight. Central to the BSA's stated mission is character development =
and=20
values-based leadership training.<BR><BR>ACLU leaders view these =
conservative=20
emphases as warrant for legal action, according to documents on the ACLU =

website.<BR><BR>While BSA is continuing to assess the number of Boy =
Scout and=20
Cub Scout units that will be affected, BSA national spokesman Gregg =
Shields said=20
units whose charters will be pulled from public schools would number in =
the=20
thousands. BSA is America's largest youth organization that includes =
thousands=20
of units and 1.3 million adult volunteers.<BR><BR>Defending against a =
wave of=20
ACLU lawsuits would cost schools untold thousands of dollars, Shields =
said.=20
Instead of risking financially draining litigation, the BSA is pulling =
scout=20
units from schools as a matter of stewardship, he said. <BR><BR>"We =
obviously=20
don't want that [expensive lawsuits against schools] to happen," Shields =
said.=20
"Instead, the Boy Scouts have tried to protect the resources of our =
education=20
partners by moving our charter from public schools to other =
community-based=20
organizations such as parent-teacher organizations or Salvation Army =
units or=20
nearby religious organizations."<BR><BR>Shields said the Boy Scouts of =
America=20
is counting on community organizations such as churches to take up the =
charters=20
of scouting units that have been removed from public schools and other=20
governmental organizations.<BR><BR>Removal of a scouting unit's charter =
from a=20
school will not necessarily remove its presence from the school, Shields =
said,=20
noting that groups will still have access to public school facilities; =
they just=20
won't be chartered by the schools.<BR><BR>"Boy Scout troops will still =
have the=20
same rights as any other community-based group to meet in school =
buildings, but=20
the charter will not be held by the school administration," he =
said.<BR><BR>"We=20
hope to make this a seamless transition that won't even be noticed by =
the youth=20
and barely noticed by our 1.3 million generous volunteers who give their =
time to=20
help American youth," Shields said. <BR><BR>Shields said community =
groups=20
already have begun to fill the void left by the shift from public school =

charters. While many churches already sponsor Cub Scout packs, Shields =
urges=20
many others to get involved in all levels of scouting, an institution =
whose core=20
values can fit well within the standards of most conservative =
evangelical=20
congregations.<BR><BR>Churches can help in two ways, he said: by seeking =
to pick=20
up a scout unit charter from a local school or by starting a new scout =
troop. He=20
pointed out that charters involve very little money and merely provide=20
individual units with an official place to meet and organize their=20
activities.<BR><BR>"[Chartering a scouting unit] is not a complicated =
process,"=20
Shields said. "Many churches find scouting so in line with the mission =
of the=20
church that they'll use Boy Scouting as an auxiliary to their youth =
program....=20
The values of the Boy Scouts certainly fit well with my church and I =
think they=20
would most others."<BR><BR>The ACLU's threat also precludes other =
government=20
organizations such as police, fire and recreation departments from =
holding=20
charters for scouting units. BSA will seek groups such as fire and =
police=20
department auxiliaries to pick up these charters, Shields said. But far =
more=20
scout units are chartered by public schools than other governmental =
agencies, he=20
said. <BR><BR>The latest threat of litigation is the latest chapter in a =
25-year=20
assault the ACLU has waged against the Boy Scouts. The ACLU has sued BSA =
14=20
times over the past 25 years using similar accusations, Shields =
said.<BR><BR>The=20
most widely publicized case involved a U.S. Supreme Court decision in =
2000=20
upholding a New Jersey troop's removal of an assistant scoutmaster after =
it=20
became known that the man was an avowed homosexual. Despite the legal =
victory,=20
the ACLU and other scouting opponents have continued their efforts =
across the=20
country.<BR><BR>Last fall, the ACLU threatened to sue the U.S. =
Department of=20
Defense for chartering BSA units, causing the Pentagon to drop its BSA=20
sponsorships. <BR><BR>By attempting to remove Boy Scouts from public =
schools,=20
the ACLU is attempting to undermine an organization that has exerted an=20
overwhelmingly positive influence on millions of school-aged children, =
Shields=20
said. <BR><BR>"For decades, many, many school administrators, teachers =
and=20
parents have recognized the benefits of having a scouting program in =
their=20
institutions," he said. "Those involved in scouting have become better =
citizens=20
and students because of the opportunity.<BR><BR>"However, the ACLU has =
ignored=20
the schools' and the parents' rights to choose to participate or not in =
Boy=20
Scouts. No one is forced to join Boy Scouts. Let's say a child has =
parents who=20
are atheists. Nobody will force that child to join the Boy Scouts. Most=20
Americans and the vast majority of parents value their freedom to choose =
[to=20
participate in] the Boy Scouts and [support] the values they stand for." =

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