The Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America had been paying $1 a year rent to Philadelphia since 1928. But recently the city announced that the Scouts must pay $200,000 a year to remain in the current location, because they allegedly "discriminate" against homosexuals - If 'discrimination', why didn't they just go through the court system and get admitted ?
5/29/08: A Boy Scouts chapter is suing the city of Philadelphia for charging the organization $200,000 rent because the city doesn't like the Scouts' ban on homosexuals from participating in Scouting. For 80 years, the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America has paid $1 a year to rent their headquarters building in the "City of Brotherly Love." But now the city says the Scouts must open their membership to homosexuals, or begin paying $200,000 a year, which the city calls "fair market rent," to remain in the facility -- a facility the Scouts built, maintained, and improved over eight decades at no cost to the city. In 2000 the Supreme Court ruled that as a private organization, the Boy Scouts have a First Amendment right to determine their own membership policy.
I am an Eagle Scout from Chester County Council, which is just West of Cradle of Liberty, and I have many friends in that council.
The Scouts (the organization, not the kids) donated that particular property to the city of Philadelphia shortly after the Boy Scout program came to America c.1910. The city agreed to let them to use the facility that they had donated for a nominal fee of $1/year. With the recent uproar against the Boy Scouts, the city government announced that they were going to start charging the new fee as a PR move.
That's the back story, but I don't know what the council's next move will be.
If anyone still happens to be looking at this thread, I just spoke with some of my old scout leaders and they told me that Cradle of Liberty Council (BSA in Philadephia) is going to recoup the costs of the maintainence and repairs that they have performed on that facility over the past 90 years. It should be about $500,000 dollars. Subtract the 200k from that, and the council is still up.
FYI: this is pure unsubstantiated gossip.
Hi,
What do you mean, get admitted?
I don't think it's right that they suddenly have to pay the money without going through the courts system, but I think it's worse that they even had the deal and got away with paying $1 for so long. The gay thing has nothing to do with it, to me. The annoyance is that they had special treatment to pay $1 rent when there are so many homeless people on the street.
Ugh.
News Update: 10/27/07
Outraged citizens crashed the e-mail system of the Philadelphia mayor's office after the city accused the local Boy Scouts chapter of discriminating against homosexuals and forced the organization to pay $200,000 rent for its city-owned headquarters.
Because the government cannot legally discriminate against people. The BSA, as a private organization can, but the City of Philadelphia cannot. If the City gives special treatment to the BSA, they are endorsing such discrimination.
Definition:
Admitted: to allow entry (as to a place, fellowship, or privilege)
