Conn. city may deny permit to Boy Scouts
NORWALK, Conn. -- City officials are considering denying a permit for the Boy Scouts to use a beach for a recruitment drive based on the parent organization's policy of barring homosexual members.
Mayor Alex Knopp has asked the law department to determine whether there is legal precedent to deny a Boy Scouts troop use of Shady Beach. He made his request after members of the Common Council's parks committee told scoutmaster Greta DeAngelis last week that they would vote against issuing her a permit for a three-hour campfire and recruitment program on Oct. 24. The mayor declined to comment until he has more information.
The controversy about Boy Scouts of America membership arose a few years ago after the organization expelled James Dale, an Eagle Scout and assistant scoutmaster in New Jersey for 10 years, because he is gay. Dale sued and won reinstatement but the Scouts took their case to the US Supreme Court and, in 2000, prevailed.
Although DeAngelis said her Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts troops do not discriminate, Norwalk Parks Committee members Kenneth Baker and Peter Wien argued that the local Scouts are required to follow the national policy.
Lena Fergason, legislative and regulations specialist for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, said she is unaware of any other Connecticut municipalities that have denied the Scouts use of public land.
Lou Salute, a Boy Scouts executive with the Connecticut Yankee Council, said DeAngelis only wants the same access to public facilities given to other organizations. "To deny the Boy Scouts access would constitute discrimination against us," Salute said.
In 2000, the Connecticut State Employee Campaign Committee removed the Boy Scouts from its list of charities that workers contribute to through a payroll deduction plan. The move came after the state's human rights commission found that including the Boy Scouts on the list violated the state's antidiscrimination laws because of the Scouts' policy that bars homosexuals from their organization.
