Pentagon agrees it cannot sponsor Boy Scout troops
- Nov 30, 2004 - comment
The Department of Defense has absorbed criticism for agreeing with the American Civil Liberties Union to inform its military bases worldwide they cannot officially sponsor Boy Scout units.
The settlement in a lawsuit in Chicago, Ill., is limited in scope and is only a clarification of previous policy, according to the Pentagon. Critics of the action, however, said the department should not have backed down to the ACLU’s charge of religious discrimination against the Boy Scouts.
“The Pentagon ought to show some backbone,” said Gary McCaleb, senior counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund. “The ACLU is an oppressor, not a protector, of religious liberty.”
The Pentagon denied it officially sponsors Boy Scout units, adding its policy does not allow sponsorship for any private organization.
“The settlement does not prohibit the Department of Defense from supporting the Boy Scouts of America,” the Pentagon said in a Nov. 16 statement. “Boy Scout units are permitted to meet on military bases, and military personnel are allowed to remain active in Boy Scout programs.”
The ACLU charged DOD units have held charters for hundreds of Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs. DOD did not acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement.
In recent months, the Boy Scouts of America has sought to make sure it is in compliance with the DOD policy, BSA spokesman Bob Bork said. The organization has worked to verify sponsorships are held by such groups as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and churches, he said.
The question in the case of whether DOD may continue to provide funds for the Boy Scouts has yet to be settled.
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