Posted on 08/02/2005 1:17:57 PM PDT by dukeman
August 2, 2005
The legal bullies at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sustained a substantial loss with the Senate's passage this week, by a 95-0 vote, of the Support Our Scouts Act of 2005.
The Act, which is an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill, is expected to pass in the House.
The Act establishes that the Boy Scouts, and any group officially associated with them, cannot be discriminated against in any way through the denial of access to federal funding or public facilities.
"It's about time Congress stepped in to protect the Scouts from the ravenous wolves of the ACLU and the other Scout haters," said Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for America's (CWA's) Culture & Family Institute, who is himself an Eagle Scout. "For too long, the Boy Scouts have been treated like criminals instead of the irreplaceable, character-building outfit they are. Sen. Frist deserves a high-five for his leadership on this bill."
The ACLU has been after the Boy Scouts for years for the group's refusal to include atheists and homosexuals. In 1999, the ACLU of Illinois filed a lawsuit against the Boy Scouts because of the Defense Department's sponsorship of the group. The ACLU claimed that federal funds should not be used to support the Scouts because members were required to swear an oath of duty to God, and that this violated the separation of church and state.
As a result, U.S. District Court Judge Blanche Manning ruled on June 22 that the Pentagon could no longer fund the readying of a Virginia military base for the 2005 National Scout Jamboree, which is currently taking place. The Jamboree brings together more than 40,000 Scouts, leaders and volunteers, and President George W. Bush is scheduled to speak.
Sen. Bill Frist (R- Tennessee), who spearheaded the legislation, expressed his gratitude to the Senate:
"This amendment protects a unique American tradition that teaches our youth the importance of honesty, integrity and character. It enables the Scouts to continue their public service without the distraction of senseless legal and political attacks. I'm proud that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle chose to uphold the Boy Scouts' fundamental right of fair and equal access to public facilities. Now, more than ever, our nation needs young leaders who understand that content of character counts, and I'm pleased to know this integral scouting tradition will be protected as they continue their noble efforts to mold the hearts and minds of the next generation of America's leaders."
CWA strongly supports and encourages the leadership of Sen. Frist and the Senate on this issue. The Boy Scouts is an important institution that teaches values and life skills. In light of ongoing assaults on the morality of young people today, we must support the continued work of the Boy Scouts to encourage integrity and character among tomorrow's leaders.
Great news! I hadn't heard this had passed the Senate. Thanks for the post.
Good news.
Hallelujah! And next, they need to eliminate Federal funding of the ACLU. Oh, yes, Virginia, the Federal government funds the anti-Christ.
While any day the ACLU is slapped down is a good day, I have to question why my tax dollars are supporting the Boy Scouts.
WOW!! This is an odd moment, I expect to see that old, floating eyeball from the Twilight zone intro to start zooming around.
"I have to question why my tax dollars are supporting the Boy Scouts."
I'm not sure it's so much access to tax dollars, although the Boy Scouts can apply for federal grants just like anyone else I guess, as access to federal property - particularly military bases - for their meetings and other gatherings. True, there's a cost involved in providing premises for the Scouts' use, but, in my opinion, that's a much more worthwhile use of our tax dollars than some of the cr*p politicians spend our money on.
Best news I've heard in a long time.
I have to question why my tax dollars are supporting the Boy Scouts.
They don't. The scouts pay to rent facilities that may belong to state/federal parks and parts of military bases. The scouts do their own club and personal fundraising.
The scouts include God, devotionals and Great Spirit wording in their pledges which was the 'grounds' the aclu was basing their claim.
Isn't there federal money going for "Midnight Basketball" or some such crap, an attempt to (try to) keep certain folks from dealing crystal meth on the corners after midnight?
I guess Boy Scouts don't deserve the same type of support.
Important institution ping!
Congress needs to hold hearings into the ACLU like they did to the kkk,mafia, etc
Congress needs to hold hearings into the ACLU like they did to the kkk,mafia, etc
One reason is that it would be one of the best investments you ever made with your tax dollars. But the truth is that the support in the form of use of federal facilities is a benefit to the federal facility. While all taxpayers may apply for permits to use federal facilities, the Boy Scouts have a need sometimes for very large and largely undeveloped areas. Military bases are an ideal place for Camporees while some other group of taxpayers may only need an office in a federal building. But this is a privilege for all taxpayers. The Boy Scours pay for facility improvement and then yield these improvements back to the federal facility. (For example, the Scouts may need an outdoor stage. They build one at their expense and leave it on site for anyone following them to use.)
The ACLU took the position that the Boy Scouts had to divorce themself from any government support because the Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts could deny association with some groups. And the ACLU thought this was an unamerican thing to do. The courts also ruled recentaly that federal groups could not serve as "charter organizations for the Scouts. Of course defending all these lawsuits could put the Scouts out of business financially. It turns out that congress stepped in and helped decide how some rulings should go, and in particular that federal facilities could in fact be used by the Scouts.
This points to a need in this country to have some lawsuit reform. The Scouts and anyone can be sued to bankruptcy and no real justice served. We depend on judges to dismiss lawsuits designed simply to slap someone down, but too often the judge is of the same political pursuasion. If the loser in these lawsuits had to pay the costs of both side, or if puntative damages could be assessed it would stop this kind of thing.
I have been on National Jamboree Staff one time, in 2001.
From my observation, this single event every four years is pretty much the US Armed Forces biggest recruiting demonstration you'll ever see. And why not? Scouts wear uniforms, follow a chain of command within a troop, and obey the Scout Law and a number of other leadership principles, and are pretty much ready-made to join the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. I myself know fellow scouts who have gone on to join all four.
If the Dept. of Defense were not allowed this opportunity to get Scouts enthusiastic about the possibility of military life, how would they be able to meet their recruiting goals (which I think in some branches aren't being met at the current time)?
I think the ACLU should be happy that Scouts become Soldiers and therefore they don't have to. In addition, money not spent on the National Jamboree would just get spent on some more tanks or some more ICBMs, and I'm sure the people at the ACLU would rather have fewer tanks or ICBMs in the world.
Great explanation, and I agree.
"If the loser in these lawsuits had to pay the costs of both side, or if puntative damages could be assessed it would stop this kind of thing."
Or if the federal government would just stop funding the ACLU, it might also stop this kind of thing - the ACLU (AllCriminalsLoveUs) is what I consider a waste of my tax dollars, not the Boy Scouts!
Actually I have read this on several posts but I don't agree. My suspicion is that the ACLU gets all the funding they need from donations, (which may or may not be tax deductible, maybe this is where the idea comes from) and from liberal foundations like the Ford foundation.
I saw on one website a petition that claims that taxpayers pay lawyers in "civil rights" suits, I don't know about this either. But I see the ACLU has over 400,000 members so they can fall back on them for support anytime they wish. I saw that if I were a subscriber I could download financial information, I wish someone knew the percentage of public funding for the ACLU. I would like to attack at the roots.
MY son is at the Jamboree this year and the military pulled out all their toys for the kids to climb on and see. This is the best recruitment for the military, The BSA spent 20 million I heard upgrading facilities on AP Hill. The DOD does not give any money to the BSA. Of course the military asks for volunteers to work the Jamboree and spends money on logistics and transportation.
Heck GM donated a lot of large SUV and trucks for use at the Jamboree. Sams cub/ Walmart donated a tractor trailer of water.
But consider this , the seventh largest city in Va goes up in tents with their own post office , radio station and medical facilities. They had 43,000 scouters there and upwards of 50,000 vistors. This was funded purely by volunteers, 95% of the adults paid there way there. They funded the merit badges etc. This was not funded by the federal govt. All this is done by plain everday Americans and boys 11-18 years old.
This is volunteerism at its best, not mandated, just done because we love our boys and scouting is so much fun.
Back in 2001 I watched two Army soldiers showing a group of Scouts a tank with one of those really big guns on top that shoots like a mile or more.
One of the soldiers told the Scouts "I'm not supposed to show you guys this, but have a look at this."
He proceeded to pull out of his pocket a live shell for that really big gun. All the Scouts went "ooooh"
I had to laugh. The Soldiers love "showing off" to an audience that sppreciates it.
Any money the DoD spends on the Jamboree or related to the Jamboree is money well spent in my opinion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.