[Alberta's Child]

It's about time an organization like the Boy Scouts told these governments to go f#ck themselves, and stop pretending that it is anything other than a private, non-profit organization that abides by its own rules. If they want to have a Sea Scout troop in Berkeley, let them get a wealthy private donor to buy them their own marina.

Any person or group who relies on The State for their well-being and solvency has no reason to complain when The State starts making outrageous demands of them.

Two years ago, the court similarly rejected a Boy Scouts appeal of a case from Connecticut, where officials dropped the group from a list of charities that receive donations from state employees through a payroll deduction plan.

The Boy Scouts were the wrong plaintiff in this case. They would have had a much better chance of succeeding in court if the suit had been brought by a donor who was not permitted to donate to his/her favorite charity through this plan.

[Congressman Billybob]

The Scouts, at their own expense, built a breakwater in the Berkely Marina in return for their "perpetual lease" on two spaces for docking. So, the City of Berkeley "stole" the breakwater from the Scouts by keeping it, not paying for it, yet breaching the lease they had agreed to.

Unfortunately, this issue was not properly developed at trial, and therefore could not be presented to the Supreme Court.

John / Billybob

[presidio9]

What the hell are you talking about? It's a PUBLIC marina. Wanna bet there's some gay group who is enjoying free use of public property because of Berkeley's arbitrary rules? Plenty of not-for-profit groups are discriminatory. Do you really want to open that Pandora's Box? The end result of rulings like this will be "mo more Boy Scouts." Is that a good thing in the name of buttsex equality?

[polymuser]

A BSA unit (pack, troop) exists as a chartered subgroup of an existing organization (church, civic organization, VFW post, etc.). Units seek chartering organizations agreeable with their cause, and the chartering organization agrees to the BSA's purposes in a signed charter document. A unit is financially under the auspices and on the books of their chartering organization. Also, the BSA receives unique regard from the U.S. Congress. Or used to, at least. But then, public schools used to teach from Christian bibles.

Those that have worked to neuter American men feel they're quite successful, and now target our sons.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"Any person or group who relies on The State for their well-being and solvency has no reason to complain when The State starts making outrageous demands of them."

[Old_Mil]

let them get a wealthy private donor to buy them their own marina.

There aren't all that many wealthy private donors running around who believe in family values. Soros and his ilk are typically democrats, because they don't like society to place restrictions on what they can do with their money.

[Maelstrom]

The governments in question recognized the value of the scouts and entered into contracts to ensure their continued role as a beneficial force in their localities.

The governments in question are violating their contracts.

These lawsuits aren't whining lawsuits about "gimmie this" and "gimmie that". They are about contract violations. ALL OF THESE RULINGS AGAINST THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA ARE WRONG.

The Boy Scouts of America have not changed. The governments have changed. These changes in no way obviate them from meeting their contractual obligations.