The Pinellas County School Board in Tampa Bay, Florida voted to reject funds for an educational program affiliated with the Boy Scouts on Tuesday, “citing discrimination against gay youth by the organization”:
“This board has a chance to send a strong message to the Boy Scouts,” said Board Member Linda Lerner during the meeting. Lerner has asked the board to split from the program for the past 10 years. “I was pleasantly surprised, and I believe that it is so good for our district for our educators, students, and citizens, gay and straight,” said Lerner.
“Learning for Life” is a character education program in schools. It teaches students values like respect, responsibility, honesty and fairness.
Watch a local news segment on the story:
The Boy Scouts prohibit atheists, agnostics, and “avowed” homosexual people from leadership roles. In 2004, the organization adopted the following policy statement: “Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed. The conduct of youth members must be in compliance with the Scout Oath and Law, and membership in Boy Scouts of America is contingent upon the willingness to accept Scouting’s values and beliefs. Most boys join Scouting when they are 10 or 11 years old. As they continue in the program, all Scouts are expected to take leadership positions. In the unlikely event that an older boy were to hold himself out as homosexual, he would not be able to continue in a youth leadership position.”
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