Howell corrects errors in Blade article on Boy Scouts
Readers Forum
The Washington Blade
November 29, 2002
To the Editor:
Contrary to the assertions in the Washington Blade, "Boy Scouts Win Suit Appeal" [November 15, 2002], the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington (GLAA) does not intend to lobby suburban jurisdictions about their support of the Boy Scouts. GLAA focuses on lobbying the District of Columbia government, which is headache enough without trying to impinge on the turf of our sister organizations in Maryland or Virginia.
Although we have pointed out that as many as one-quarter of all Boy Scout troops around the nation are sponsored by government agencies such as public schools, police and fire departments, military bases, and the like, we are unaware of any such sponsorship by the DC Police or Fire Departments, contrary to what was reported in the Blade. Those Departments in D.C. tend to put their efforts into the Boys and Girls Clubs, which operate without discrimination. We are aware of some Boy Scout activities that are sponsored by the D.C. Public Schools, and putting an end to this partnership in bigotry has been one of our goals for some time. We first wrote School Superintendent Paul Vance on this topic in September 2001, but we have yet to receive any reply.
Further details may be found on the GLAA web site, at:
http://www.glaa.org/archive/2002/glaaonbsaappealruling1108.shtml
Craig Howell
[The author is a former President of GLAA who now specializes in enforcement of the D.C. Human Rights Act.]