Boy Scouts Lose Philadelphia Lease in Gay-Rights Fight

New York Times ^ | December 6, 2007 | Ia Urbina

[woodb01]

So let’s see now, the city supposedly has an ordinance that prevents discrimination, but of course it’s okay to discriminate AGAINST anyone who doesn’t agree with them...

[Ol' Sparky]

The BSA will have to realize that their principles are not welcomed in a Philly and make arrangements for different housing

As soon as it compensated for the value of the building...

[I still care]

I’m no lawyer, but it seems to me if they built the building, and maintained it, then they are due money from the city. I’m sure there are plenty of good lawyers who would put the city through hell.

[goodnesswins]

Maybe you should go look at some statistics.....

[weegee]

Don’t forget that opposing abortion can probably also get you on a “watch list”.

[yorkie]

According to the article, the BSA may have $5M coming to them. Hopefully it will be even more.

"On May 31, the City Council voted 16-to-1 to authorize ending the lease, though Mr. Clarke and other Council members continued trying to negotiate a settlement. Those efforts ended this week, Mr. Clarke said, adding that he had shifted his energy toward trying to see if there was a way the city could reimburse the group for improvements it had made to the property over the years. Boy Scout officials said they do not have a cost estimate for the improvements, but Mr. Jubelirer said it would exceed $5 million."

[Old Professer]

Any homosexual act makes one an acting homosexual; therefore, if a man molests a boy then it is an act of homosexuality.

[weegee]

In some places if you reside there for decades and make significant improvements to the property, it is yours.

Now granted there was a lease agreement for the land but the building is still an “improvement” and has been maintained.

[Old Professer]

It’s called “Tolerance.”

[Non-Sequitur]

Seems like a Catch-22. The Scouts own the building but the city owns the property it’s built on. Since the Scouts can’t take the building it would seem that they should be owed some compensation for it.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Why would the City of Phily want to throw gay people in with boy scouts?.....sounds like someones personal agenda.
On a parallel, I assume they would see nothing wrong with placing a serial rapist in a girls dormitory....So what if some boy scouts get raped it’s all for the cause of P.C.!

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but there is a monumental difference between "taking" the government's money and simply not paying "tribute" to it.

But there's not a monumental difference between "taking the government's money" and "getting something valuable from them for next to free."

[Girlene]

...The Boy Scouts erected the ornate building and since 1928 have leased the land from the city for a token sum of $1 a year. City officials said the market value for renting the building was about $200,000 a year, and they invited the Boy Scouts to remain as full-paying tenants. ...

...“With an epidemic of gun violence taking the lives of children almost daily in this city, it’s ironic that this administration chose to destroy programming that services thousands of children in the city,” Mr. Jubelirer said. He added that the organization serves more than 69,000 young people, mostly from the inner city, and that its programming focuses on mentoring and after-school programs instead of camping trips....

So, let me get this straight. The city council wants $200,000 and the BSA can "discriminate" away. The organization serves over 60,000 people in Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Seems like a huge loss in social services for Philadelphia for a mere $3.33 per person. I'd call the local press, have some of the local kids give testimonials about what the organization means to them. Shame the council publicly for hurting the inner-city children.

[Nephi]

There was a story of a couple in Boulder, Colorado who lost their property to a neighbor because the neighbor had used it for many years and grew emotionally attached to the property. Why can’t the Boy Scouts’ attorneys take the same approach?

[Nephi]

Just pay fair market value and be done with it.

Just give in, quit, surrender, capitulate and be done with it.

[Elpasser]

This is the liberals’ idea of “tolerance.”

[Nephi]

Any homosexual act makes one an acting homosexual; therefore, if a man molests a boy then it is an act of homosexuality....

...even if the man is married. In the past, statistics on molestations counted men who were married and abused boys as heterosexuals.

[trumandogz]

Looks to be a good investment for the Boy Scouts.

Pay market value for the land minus the value of the improvement that the Boy Scouts did and then sell the property in ten years for a large profit.

At that point the Boy Scouts can take there profit and move out of Philly and into the suburbs.

[yorkie]

I believe you are talking about this case:

Land Grab - Adverse Possession

You may be on to something there, Nephi.