Boy Scouts Discrimination (beliefs, homosexuals, attending, America, atheist)

[Ryan2065]

Alright so I didn't see an active thread on this yet in 2006 so I decided I would start this one up... My question is what do you all think of the Boy Scouts refusal to allow homosexuals and atheists in?

Do you think they should be allowed to keep this policy being a private organization?

Do you believe they should be allowed to use public property to hold meetings?

Do you believe they should be allowed to hold their National Jamboree every 4 years that ends up costing the government 5 million dollars but also gives the armed forces a training session on having to set up emergency camps for many people due to some random disaster?

[PetShopBoy88]

Originally Posted by Ryan2065

Do you think they should be allowed to keep this policy being a private organization?

A private orgainisation is just that - Private. They can choose to let in whoever they want. If somebody doesn't like it, maybe they should start their own private organisation.

Do you believe they should be allowed to use public property to hold meetings?

Yes. Public property is just that - Public. Public property is for the public to use.

Do you believe they should be allowed to hold their National Jamboree every 4 years that ends up costing the government 5 million dollars but also gives the armed forces a training session on having to set up emergency camps for many people due to some random disaster?

They should be allowed to, but the government doesn't have to fund it.

[Ryan2065]

Originally Posted by PetShopBoy88

They should be allowed to, but the government doesn't have to fund it.

If the government didn't fund it the whole thing would probably actually be alot cheaper than it is... The government funds the parts they deem a "training" exercise... They provide the housing and food as they would if there was a huge disaster that left many people homeless and needing immediate housing (cause that doesn't ever happen). The boy scouts could easily do this for alot cheaper...

I am not sure what the fee for each scout is but it is up there...
http://www.sfbac.org/camping/c_natjamboree.cfm
This council charges $1500 per child for the jamboree... This includes travel expenses though.

As far as I know, the armed forces only provide the food and housing as if they were in a disaster situation. The 5 million dollar figure is from Penn and Teller...

The number of scouts attending that the armed forces need to get food and housing for are 30,000 scouts, 4,000 leaders and a support staff of 5,000 (Hense the figure being so high)

[PetShopBoy88]

Originally Posted by Ryan2065

If the government didn't fund it the whole thing would probably actually be alot cheaper than it is... The government funds the parts they deem a "training" exercise...

So the government isn't funding the boy scouts. They just happen to run training excersices at the same time and in the same location as the boy scouts every four years. I don't see any problem in that.

[Bright-ness' Shadow]

Whoa! Some mis-information here. The armed forces, when it sponsers a jamboree does not provide housing, it does allow existing structures to be used for community function (dispensory, admin units, car pool lot for donated school buses, etc.) However, the land use, security and other base-type functions are provided.

The is good reason that since an armed forces unit may no longer sponser a troop, any land use must be re-embursed (sp?).

But the member to talk about this is NetDoc who attends jamborees as a scout official.

[Djamila]

They really don't let athiests or homosexuals in? Then their name should be obvious.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is illegal to give a religious organization a benign name. You can't have a group for Christian youth and call it "The Boy Scouts", it would have to be clearly labelled "The Christian Boy Scouts".

They can still receive government funding, of course. There is a certain amount allocated for such things every year, though most of their expenses are covered by their members and religious organizations associated with the group.

The Muslim Women's League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, is an Islamic women's rights organization. They get funding for their public relations projects, billboards and such. The Orthodox Christian Civic Council is partly an organization similar to Block Parents in the United States, they also get some funding.

But to give something a benign name, when it is in fact an exclusive group, is illegal.

[nutshell]

Originally Posted by Djamila

They really don't let athiests or homosexuals in? Then their name should be obvious.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is illegal to give a religious organization a benign name. You can't have a group for Christian youth and call it "The Boy Scouts", it would have to be clearly labelled "The Christian Boy Scouts".

They can still receive government funding, of course. There is a certain amount allocated for such things every year, though most of their expenses are covered by their members and religious organizations associated with the group.

The Muslim Women's League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, is an Islamic women's rights organization. They get funding for their public relations projects, billboards and such. The Orthodox Christian Civic Council is partly an organization similar to Block Parents in the United States, they also get some funding.

But to give something a benign name, when it is in fact an exclusive group, is illegal.

The Boy Scouts of America is not a religious organization. You deemed it Christian, but there are also Muslim, Budhist, and other religious beliefs among it's members.

[Djamila]

Here, for example, is the Muslim Youth Group in the municipality of Prozor, heading to a convention in Visocica.


Prozor.Net na Visocici 1

They're very similar to the scouts, but wouldn't be allowed to just call themselves that.

[Green Gaia]

It is my understanding that they are a private organization, so I have no comment on who they exclude from membership other than to say that my son will never participate in that anti-gay organization.