March 9, 2000
The US Supreme Court is considering the question of whether or not the Boy Scouts of America may exclude gays from membership. The case grew out of an incident involving a Matawan Troop.
The BSA, quite properly, is arguing that as a private, voluntary organization it has the right to chose leaders and define its membership for itself, free of government dictate. They're right. Strictly speaking, the government should have no right to tell the Boy Scouts who they must accept or reject any more than it should be able to dictate the membership rules of a church, a stamp club or a group of say, hiking enthusiasts.
In my opinion, the Boy Scouts attitude about gays is not only wrong, it's stupid. It's based on an ignorant, prejudicial view of homosexuals. And it sends a message of intolerance. They are telling young people to not judge individuals on their personal merits or character, but rather to condemn them based on one aspect of their background, and a misguided view as well. But if they were in effect a private club, they would have that right.
But are the Boy Scouts a strictly private organization? They often meet in schools, fire houses, community centers and other facilities built and maintained by taxpayer dollars. Many troops are sponsored by public schools. And part of the tax dollars going to support the scouts come from gay people - the very people scouting refuses to accept as members or leaders.
They can't have it both ways. If they want the rights they should be unquestionably be entitled to it as a private association, they must get off government welfare. Far too many groups subsist, to a greater or lesser extent, by living off the government. It must stop.
Pat Bontempo, Chairman
Monmouth County Libertarian Party
(732) 775-7263