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Gay Groups Unhappy With Boy Scouts Settlement




PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 20, 2010
Gay groups are unhappy with a proposed settlement between the
 City of Philadelphia and a local Boy Scouts chapter, the Philadelphia 
Inquirer reported.
Under the settlement announced Wednesday, the city will sell its
 stately Beaux Arts building for less than half of its $1.1 million 
value to the Philadelphia chapter of the Boy Scouts, known as the 
Cradle of Liberty Council. In exchange, the Scouts have agreed to
 forgive the nearly $1 million legal tab a federal court ordered the city 
to pay after it ruled the city could not evict the group from a city-
owned building for refusing to admit gay members.
The city decided to terminate the scout's nearly-free lease in 2007, 
insisting that nonprofits must abide by local anti-discrimination laws,
 including an ordinance that protects based on sexual orientation.
Andrew A. Chirls, a lawyer representing gay people who had worked 
with the city on the issue, said the city had undervalued the building:
 “It's a Renaissance-style mansion with an atrium and marble
 appointments, and you're selling it for the price of a rowhouse.”
“This [settlement] is a subsidy,” he added. “They're giving them a gift so 
they can discriminate in it.”
The Philadelphia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of 
Pennsylvania also criticized the proposal.
“This settlement is a bad deal not only for lesbian, gay, bisexual and 
transgender Philadelphians, but also for the taxpayers of the City
 of Philadelphia at a time when the city is struggling to balance its
 budget without drastic cuts in city services,” the group said in a letter.
The proposed settlement surprised Councilman Darrell L. Clarke, 
who was expected to introduce a bill Thursday required for the city
 to sell the property.
Clarke said he wanted to hear from gay groups and the building's 
neighbors before introducing the legislation.
“I would think any resolution of this issue would definitely include those individuals,” he said.
In 2000, the Supreme Court agreed that the Texas-based Boy Scouts
 of America, as a private group, can set up their own rules.
The Cradle of Liberty Council faced eviction after it refused to 
specifically repudiate the gay ban.
BY ON TOP MAGAZINE STAFF 

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