The official anti-gay bigotry of the Boy Scouts of America continues to run up a high price as UPS joins the major companies which have ceased their financial support to the BSA. Part of me feels sadness for the boys and youth who may lose out as a result, but the situation could easily be corrected: delete religious based bigotry from BSA policy. Just this weekend I passed a table at a shopping center where a pack was fundraising and had to tell the boys and mother in charge that I simply could not make a contribution because of the BSA policy against gays. It's bigoted adults within the BSA who are harming the boys and youths they claim to support. Here are excerpts from Huffington Post on UPS's decision to drop the BSA:
More bad news for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), as a major donor has announced plans to sever funding to the organization on account of a controversial anti-gay policy.
The United Parcel Service (UPS), Inc. will soon adopt a non-discrimination policy that disqualifies the BSA from future funding, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reports. UPS follows the Intel Foundation in withdrawing corporate sponsorship from the BSA, GLAAD officials note in an email statement.
"UPS and The UPS Foundation do not discriminate against any person or organization with regard to categories protected by applicable law, as well as other categories protected by UPS and The UPS Foundation in our own policies," UPS officials note on the company's website. "These include, but are not limited to race, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status, pregnancy, age and religion."
In July, BSA reaffirmed its policy of excluding gays from participating as scouts or troop leaders, citing support from parents as a key incentive. "The vast majority of the parents of youth we serve value their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting," the Scouts' chief executive Bob Mazzuca told the Associated Press.
One can only hope that the day will come when the leaders of the BSA believe in supporting all boys and youths, both gay and straight.
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