August 31, 2000
Federal agency probes Scouts over gay ban
By Joyce Howard Price
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
A division of the Department of Interior is gathering information
on its ties to the Boy Scouts to determine whether such ties
violate President Clinton's executive order banning
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the Scouts were
within their constitutional rights in barring homosexuals from
serving as Scout leaders.
The gathering of information is the first known instance of the
federal government questioning ties with the Boy Scouts since
that ruling.
The Bureau of Reclamation "will assist [the Department of
Justice] by providing information as it relates to the Boy Scouts
of America to ensure consistency with the Executive Order"
President Clinton signed on June 23, Nattie Silva, assistant
director of diversity and equal opportunity for the bureau, said
in an e-mail memo sent out Tuesday.
The memo, sent to the bureau's commissioner and its regional
directors, asked that the agency officials provide answers to
seven questions regarding all the "activities, events or
programs" they have in conjunction with the Boy Scouts by the end
of business tomorrow.
Miss Silva said she needs the responses by that time "so that we
may respond to the [Justice] Department by September 5."
Reaction from the friends of the Boy Scouts was swift. "This
appears to be a precursor to a full-throated attack on the Scouts
by the Clinton administration. . . . We're looking for Congress
to rein in this mean-spirited foray against America's premier
youth organization," Robert H. Knight, senior director of
cultural studies for the Family Research Council, said of the
Silva memo.
In her memo, Miss Silva specifically requested information
concerning "any such programs related to the Boy Scout Jamboree
to be held in July 2001." The jamboree will be held at Fort A.P.
Hill, an Army post at Bowling Green, Va. The event is held every
four years in recent years, always at Fort A.P. Hill.
Gregg Shields, spokesman for the Boy Scouts, said he did not know
of the federal inquiry involving his organization until told of
it yesterday by a reporter. He learned later that Boy Scouts
corporate officials were aware of it. "They are not concerned
about it," Mr. Shields said.
Justice officials said yesterday the Reclamation Bureau came to
them and asked for assistance in determining whether any of the
joint activities they conduct with the Boy Scouts violate
Executive Order 13160.
The order prohibits discrimination on the basis of "race, sex,
color, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual
orientation and status as a parent in federally conducted
education and training programs."
Mr. Clinton signed the order five days before the Supreme Court,
by a 5-4 vote, ruled that the Boy Scouts has a constitutional
right to exclude homosexual members and leaders. The court held
that the Boy Scouts a private organization founded in 1913
believes accepting homosexuals "would derogate from the
organization's expressive message."
Mr. Clinton, as president, is the honorary head of the Boy Scouts
of America. Several Democrats in Congress have asked Mr. Clinton
to resign from that position as a protest of the Scouts' ban
homosexual troop leaders.
In her memo, Miss Silva of the Reclamation Bureau asks officials
of her agency to:
Identify and explain all activities it has with the Boy Scouts,
including, but not limited to, the Boy Scout Jamboree.
Specify whether each activity is provided only to members of
the Boy Scouts or whether it also is provided to the general
public.
Identify any specific monetary assistance provided directly to
the Boy Scouts.
Identify any non-monetary assistance provided directly to the
Boy Scouts. Non-monetary assistance could include use of
government equipment, facilities and employees.
State whether the bureau treats the Boy Scouts as a recipient
of federal financial assistance and makes the organization sign
assurances.
Specify whether the bureau sponsors Boy Scouts of America
troops and, if so, what the sponsorship entails.
Identify all awards, certificates, patches or other forms of
recognition that the bureau provides to members of the Boy Scouts
for participation in these programs.
Last week, homosexual rights groups kicked off a national
campaign against the Boy Scouts to force the private organization
to rescind its policy barring homosexuals from acting as troop
leaders.
The groups want to use laws enacted by state and local
governments that ban discrimination against homosexuals to limit
Boy Scout troops' access to public funding and use of public
facilities.
Homosexual rights groups held rallies against the Boy Scouts in
36 cities and 21 states as part of the nationwide protest. A
small group of activists some dressed in Boy Scout uniforms
was turned away from the organization's national headquarters in
Irving,
