LOUISVILLE, KY, April 29, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The city council of Louisville has denied a request for funds to help Boy Scouts obtain merit badges, because the group allegedly “discriminates” by refusing to allow homosexual males to act as scoutmasters.
Louisville Metro Council rejected a request from Councilwoman Cindi Fowler, D-14th District, to approve $640 in neighborhood development money so that Boy Scouts could earn their swimming badges after the county attorney said the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) ban on homosexual scout leaders violates the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.
The money would have expanded swimming opportunities an additional two hours on two nights for the scouts of Troop 51 at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, according to a Courier-Journal report.
“With the heightened talk, attorneys in the civil division believe that they [BSA] do discriminate and…it is intentional discrimination,” said County Attorney Mike O'Connell's spokeswoman, Jessie Halladay.
As a result, Troop 51 assistant scoutmaster Mike Kuhn received a notice telling him that the funding for extra swimming time had been rejected because “the Boy Scouts organization cannot provide documentation of an employment policy that does not discriminate against individuals, specifically sexual orientation.”
Kuhn told the Courier-Journal that he asked the council to reconsider the decision in light of its impact on the children, who should not be deprived of the scout swim nights because of the BSA's stand on homosexuals in leadership roles.
“Don't make the kids suffer over an interpretation of BSA policy that they have no control over,” he wrote to the council.
Although the Supreme Court upheld the Boy Scouts' First Amendment right of association in not allowing homosexual scout leaders in its Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000) decision, the Boy Scouts of America's national governing changed policy to allow homosexual boys to become Scouts following a massive, sustained pressure campaign from homosexual activists.
Although the BSA voted to lift its long-standing ban on openly homosexual youth in the program, it continues to bar homosexual adults from membership. Critics predicted at the time the policy could not stand.
Walt Disney World has threatened to withhold funds from the Boy Scouts through a matching grant program unless it allows gay scoutmasters by 2015.
Click “like” if you want to defend true marriage.
In response to County Attorney Mike O'Connell's decision, Councilor Fowler said she has already directed funds to expand swimming hours at the pool for the general public on Tuesdays during summer months, and that she encourages the scouts to take advantage of that expanded time.
Contact:
Louisville Metro Council Members
601 West Jefferson Street
Louisville, Ky 40202
Phone: (502) 574-1100
E-mail via website: https://www.louisvilleky.gov/MetroCouncil/Members/
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer
527 W. Jefferson St.
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 574-2003
E-mail via website: https://www.louisvilleky.gov/Mayor/