What's New 2004-2005 Archive August 10, 2005: "The presence of such an organization as the Boys Scouts of America should be praised and encouraged rather than scorned and ridiculed." writes the Delta Democrat Times of Greenville, MS, in a powerful editorial.
August 10, 2005: We've added a page of clips about legal issues and the 2005 National Boy Scout Jamboree. Also you can read and watch the President's speech to the Jamboree. July 11, 2005: The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations today criticized the federal court ruling against Defense Department assistance to the Boy Scout Jamboree July 8, 2005: The American Legion today condemned "another bad court decision against Scouting."July 7, 2005: The Boy Scouts of America issued a statement regarding the ACLU lawsuit against the Pentagon in Chicago. July 7, 2005: The AP reports that a federal judge has ruled that Pentagon may no longer spend money in support of the Boy Scouts Jamboree. June 25, 2005: "Boy Scouts are needed more than ever," writes Bill Duncan in the Capital Press Agriculture Weekly in Salem, OR. Read his complete column here. June 14, 2005: "ACLU needs to leave the Boy Scouts alone," write the editors of The Decatur (AL) Daily. Read their editorial here. June 6, 2005: Hans Zeiger weighs in on the Portland, ME, school controversy. He asks, "Are the Boy Scouts of America really so awful that they are no longer welcome in our schools?" Read his column here. June 3, 2005: Portland, Maine's School Committee wants to ban Boy Scouts from circulating fliers in the schools, but the Portland Press Herald disagrees. "[T]he issue is whether the School Committee, as an arm of the government, should be deciding which speech is valuable," write the editors. Read their complete editorial.
June 1, 2005: Over the past few days there have been some wonderful news accounts of Memorial Day tributes involving Boy Scouts. We've posted links to a few of them here.
June 1, 2005: We've posted the archived webcast highlights of the San Diego conference "The Constitution and the Boy Scouts." Follow this link to learn about this important discussion and to watch the video. May 27, 2005: "At sunrise on Saturday, in advance of Memorial Day, this Boy Scout leader will join his troop and pack at Chattanooga's National Cemetery for an official ceremony and prayer memorializing fallen veterans, by branch of service, interred in the last year," writes Mark Alexander. "Our Scouts will then fan out across the grassy slopes of this hallowed ground and place small flags at 35,000 headstones. It is a remarkable experience for all in attendance, though it could be the last. The Boy Scouts have yet to be kicked out of Chattanooga's National Cemetery, but they have been exiled from many other public places." Read his complete column here.
May 27, 2005: "The American Legion will stand with the Boy Scouts all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary," writes American Legion National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus. Read his op-ed here.
May 25, 2005: A new Harris Interactive study shows that while many of today's youth are unprepared to make moral and ethical decisions, Americans who participated in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) are more likely to make the most ethical, but not always the easiest choices. Click here for more information.
May 6, 2005: The Grand Rapids (MI) Press editorializes in support of the Support Our Scouts Act of 2005. Click here.
April 21, 2005: The Daily (Lafayette, LA) Advertiser editorializes that the "ACLU should save ammunition for greater threats." Read by clicking here.
April 19, 2005: "Do church/state separatists take it too far?" asks Planet Jackson Hole. Click here to read.
April 15, 2005: Letter to the Editor, The Free Lance-Star, " Boy Scouts a 'religious group'? No, Mr. Willis, it's not; here's why." Click here. April 14, 2005: Letter to the Editor, The Free Lance-Star, "Boy Scouts reflect society, which is not secular." Click here. April 12, 2005: The Daily (Lafayette, LA) Advertiser reports " Local Scouting groups take steps in face of ACLU threat" Click here. April 12, 2005: "ACLU Using Tax Dollars to Undermine Moral Values, Veterans' Group Says," CNSNEWS.COM reports. Click here. April 12, 2005: Press Release - "Legion Fires Legislative Volley at ACLU Over Scouts." Click here. April 10, 2005: Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, writes "Scouts-military relationship has proven nothing but beneficial for this country," in The Free Lance-Star. To read her op-ed, click here. April 9, 2005: The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports about the ACLU's threats to Scouting. Click here. January 28, 2005: Harold Johnson with the Pacific Legal Foundations writes about "The anti-Scouting witch hunt" in the Orange County Register. Read his op-ed here.
January 24, 2005: LANSING -- An atheist who sued a school district for letting the Boy Scouts recruit in his son's school lost an appeal Friday when a court ruled there was no religious discrimination. See news account here.
December 8, 2004: Christopher Stollar writes in today's Washington Times about the "Oath Under Assault." See his article here.
December 7, 2004: American Forces Press Service has written a news story based on Secretary Rumsfeld's remarks about Boy Scouts on the O'Reilly Factor. See it here. Joseph Farah calls the ACLU the "Anti-Civil Liberties Union" today. See his column here.
December 6, 2004: Bill O'Reilly interviewed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on Friday about the ACLU lawsuit against the Pentagon. Click here to read the transcript. We've also added a copy of Secretary Rumsfeld's letter to Senator Frist from a couple of weeks ago. You'll also find a letter from Senator Conrad Burns to Secretary Rumsfeld. See them all by clicking here.
December 3, 2004: Yet another great op-ed, this time on FrontPagemag.com. It's called "The ACLU Saves the Boy Scouts from God." To read it, and for all the other news and commentary on this issue, click here.
December 2, 2004: The editors of The Washington Times write today "In Defense of the Scouts." Read this powerful piece and other news and commentary on the ACLU/Pentagon battle by clicking here
December 1, 2004: A great new analysis of the ACLU by Mary Mostert on American Daily. A bunch of other clips have been added, too. Click here to be linked to them all.
November 26, 2004: The Wall Street Journal weighs in on the ACLU legal attacks on the Boy Scouts. Secretary Rumsfeld expresses support for Boy Scouts on bases. Click here to be linked to both.
We've added to our What Others Are Saying section a speech by author and editor Midge Decter delivered in 2002 which only recently was brought to our attention. It is titled "The Assault on the Boy Scouts of America." It remains current and worth reading. Click here.
Thanksgiving, November 25, 2004: Jane Chastain explains why she is thankful for the Boy Scouts of America. Click here.
November 24, 2004: We have been heartened over the past week by the enormous outpouring of support from our friends in the armed forces. You would not believe the number of calls we have received from active duty and retired military who are heartbroken by the assault on the Boy Scouts by the ACLU. We felt that we had to do something to say thank you and to demonstrate how much our relationship with America's men and women in uniform means to us. Please click here to view a flash tribute to the military from the Boy Scouts of America. More news and commentary today about the ACLU legal assault on the Boy Scouts and the Pentagon, please click here.
November 21, 2004: Five days and counting. The outcry is getting louder. People remain upset with the ACLU. The House of Representatives passed a resolution supporting Scouting. Senator Frist's "Save Our Scouts" bill was blocked, but he said it would be back in the new Congress. With so much going on, we've added more news and commentary. To see it all, click here.
November 20, 2004: Four days following the ACLU's settlement with the Pentagon ending military sponsorship of Scout troops, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution supporting Scouting. We've added more news and commentary. To see it all, click here.
November 18, 2004: Lots more on the ACLU assault on BSA and the Pentagon. New articles and commentary. Click here.
November 16, 2004: In a settlement with ACLU, the Pentagon has agreed not to directly sponsor Boy Scout troops. For more on the case, click here.
September 28, 2004: The Hour, in Norwalk, CT, today editorialized in favor of granting Boy Scouts a permit to hold a recruiting event at a public park. The reason: "You do not have to agree with the Boy Scouts' position... but you have to agree that their right to use this facility is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution." To read more about the controversy, click here. To be linked directly the the Hour's editorial, click here.
 September 26, 2004: United Way of Ventura County, CA, has reversed its policy against giving money to Boy Scouts. For more on the story, click here.
September 21, 2004: A request for a city permit to use a city park has turned into a potential legal battle with the city of Norwalk, CT. Click here for more.
August 13, 2004: "[T]he ACLU seems to be doing all it can to destroy this wonderful organization, and many leftist politicians have joined this ACLU cause. Why?," asks columnist Lee Ellis. Click here to read his answer.
 July 1, 2004: News 3 in Madison, Wisconsin, is reporting that more Scouts and their parents plan to help out at this year Fourth of July fireworks festivities despite the City Council's vote to exclude Scouts from charitable contributions collected at the display. Click here for the story. You can also view the the News 3 broadcast by clicking here.
June 30, 2004: Scouters and others have been receiving letters from various nonprofit organizations claiming to support the Boy Scouts of America and seeking contributions. Some of these groups refer to Scouting in their name: "Save Our Scouts", or "Scouting Legal Defense Fund", and some do not. All of them claim to be supporting Scouting's legal activities in some fashion, but none of them are authorized by BSA to be seeking funds. Click here to read a statement by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
June 8, 2004: The Associated Press writes today, "An elderly Madison couple has donated $2,500 to the local Boy Scouts following a City Council decision last week that keeps Rhythm & Booms organizers from donating any Fourth of July proceeds to the group." To read the story, click here.
June 7, 2004: Over the weekend, the Wisconsin State Journal published an op-ed by Hans Zeiger and a letter to the editor about the Madison Common Council resolution. To read these new additions to the debate, click here.
June 4, 2004: On Tuesday evening, June 1, the Madison Common Council in Wisconsin adopted a resolution that prohibited the nonprofit that organizes Fourth of July fireworks from donating any money to the local Boy Scout council. For the past several years, Boy Scouts from the Four Lakes Council have worked with the fireworks organizers to raise charitable funds for community organizations and the local Boy Scouts have been recipients of some of those funds. To read more about this, click here.
 May 5, 2004: Human Events Online Editor Chris Field has another in a series of articles on Boy Scouts. To read his latest piece, "Why Enforced Protection of the Boy Scouts Was Actually Necessary," click here.
May 4, 2004: In today's San Diego Union-Tribune, readers write to the editor to praise the Scouts for their rescue of a forgotten diver and to rap the ACLU. To read, click here.
April 28, 2004: Human Events Online Editor Chris Field follows up last week's article about the ACLU with this week's analysis entitled "The Boy Scouts' Freedom Not to Associate." To read his article, click here.
April 26, 2004: "Judge Jones' ruling will undoubtedly be reversed on appeal, but at great expense to the Boy Scouts -- and to the taxpayers of San Diego," writes San Diego attorney Mark Pulliam in The Daily Transcript. To read his op-ed, click here.
April 21, 2004: Human Events Online Editor Chris Field writes about the ACLU's continuing attacks on Boy Scouts. To read his column, click here.
April 1, 2004: The ACLU is on the wrong side against the Boy Scouts in San Diego, says Jim Trageser in today's North County Times. It's hard "to see how kicking the Scouts out of Balboa Park is going to help the kids -- particularly the many low-income (often minority) boys for whom the Scouts provide desperately needed leadership and growth opportunities." To read his op-ed, click here.
 April 1, 2004: The ACLU and homosexual groups are trying to kick the Boy Scouts off land they’ve used—and spent millions on—for half a century. Religious-freedom lawyers are planning a counterattack, reports Candi Cushman in Citizen Magazine. To read the article, click here.
March 18, 2004: "It is disappointing and puzzling that the court would decline to hear the perspective of the nation's principal civil rights enforcement entity," Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Harold Johnson said in a statement about District Court Judge Napolean Jones' order barring the United States from participating as a friend of the court in Barnes-Wallace v. Boy Scouts of America. "Optimism is still in order because the Boy Scouts' case is constitutionally solid. Regardless of the outcome in District Court, the Scouts should prevail on appeal," Johnson said, To read the PLF's statement, click here.
March 17, 2004: The Desert Pacific Council is disappointed by Judge Napolean Jones' order denying the United States permission to file an amicus brief in Barnes-Wallace v. Boy Scouts of America. To read the DPC's press release, click here.
March 11, 2004: "Are courtesy and cheerfulness religious tenets? Is building a campfire a sacred rite? Is a neckerchief the equivalent of a priest's stole?," asks Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, in his syndicated column. To read "The Boy Scouts in the cross hairs," click here.
March 10, 2004: The Wall Street Journal editorialized on the plight of the Scouts today. To read the editorial, click here.
March 8, 2004: Boy Scouts of America is disappointed to learn that the Supreme Court of the United States has decided not to hear a case involving government discrimination against Boy Scouts. For more on the Court's action in Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman, click here.
 March 4, 2004: The United States today joined the Scouts in the legal battle started by the ACLU. The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice filed a request with U.S. District Court Judge Napoleon Jones to appear as amicus curiae, or “friend of the court”, in Barnes-Wallace v. Boy Scouts of America. To read the Justice Department's press release, click here. To read the amicus brief, click here. To read a statement from the Desert Pacific Council, click here.
 February 24, 2004: Boy Scouts of America and the Desert Pacific Council added new civil rights claims today in their lawsuit in federal court against the City of San Diego and members of the City Council. The Scouts allege that the City is violating Boy Scouts’ constitutional rights by harassing Scouts and Scout leaders using Fiesta Island. Recently, Boy Scouts have been singled out for mistreatment by City employees, both on the property Desert Pacific Council leases from the City and the adjacent City parkland. To read more about the amended complaint, click here. To read the amended complaint, click here.
February 23, 2004: "As national debate rages over gay marriage, the Supreme Court will soon consider a throwback to an earlier gay rights issue: whether states may deny Boy Scouts access to government benefits or facilities because of the group's policy excluding gays," Tony Mauro writes in the Legal Times. To read his article about Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman, click here.
 February 19, 2004: World Net Daily published an article about the Scouts petition to the Supreme Court in Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman. World Net Daily quotes Robert Muise, associate counsel for the Thomas More Law Center saying:"It is unconstitutional to force an organization to forego its basic values, beliefs and practices as a condition for the receipt of a government benefit," said "This decision, which permits the government to punish an organization based on its opposition to homosexuality, not only harms the Boy Scouts, but it also threatens the constitutional rights of other individuals and organizations who object to homosexuality on the basis of their religious beliefs." To be linked to the article, click here.
February 19, 2004: A transcript of the Federalist Society panel discussion entitled "The Constitution on Scout's Honor: The First Amendment and State Treatment of the Boy Scouts" has now been posted. To read it, click here. For more about the program and to watch an archived web cast, click here.
February 17, 2004: Boy Scouts of America filed a reply brief at the Supreme Court of the United States in Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman to the opposition brief submitted by the State of Connecticut. To read the Scouts' reply brief click here.
February 11, 2004: The American Civil Rights Union joined the 15 other organizations and states supporting the Boy Scouts petition for certeriori to the Supreme Court of the United States in the Wyman case. Click here for its brief.
 February 11, 2004: Former Congressman Bob Barr writes today in The Washington Times, "it is indeed appropriate to thank the Boy Scouts of America ... for continuing to stand tall for God, country and family." Read his full op-ed by clicking here or go to the What Others Are Saying page by clicking here.
 February 10, 2004: The Commonwealth of Virginia and six states have joined as amici in supporting the Scouts petition for certeriori to the Supreme Court of the United States in the Wyman case. The six states are Alabama, Idaho, South Dakota, Utah, Florida and Kansas. They filed jointly. Also supporting the Scouts are Citizens for the Preservation of Constitutional Rights, Thomas More Law Center and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, General Commission on United Methodist Men of the United Methodist Church and the National Catholic Committee on Scouting. This brings to 15 the number of entities and organizations supporting Scouting. All of their amicus briefs can be found by clicking here.
February 9, 2004: Support grows for the Boy Scout Petition for Certeriori to the Supreme Court in the Wyman case. Three amicus briefs have been added to the web site and more are coming. Click here to be taken to the Documents page.
February 5, 2004: Boy Scouts of America and the Desert Pacific Council today filed suit in federal court against the City of San Diego and members of the City Council. The Scouts charged that the City violated the Scouts constitutional rights and breached its contract to lease land at Balboa Park. Click here for more information.
February 5, 2004: The Becket Fund filed its Amicus Curiae Brief at the Supreme Court of the United States in support of the Boy Scouts Petition for Certiorari in Boy Scouts of America v. Wyman. To see the Becket Fund brief go to the Documents section of this website or click here.
 February 3, 2004: The National Council of Boy Scouts of America today unveiled its new legal issues website. George Davidson, of the law firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed, LLP, and Legal Counsel for Boy Scouts of America announced the web site at the National Press Club.
February 3, 2004: Today the Federalist Society on Law and Public Policy held a discussion at the National Press Club entitled "The Constitution on Scout's Honor: The First Amendment and State Treatment of the Boy Scouts." For more about the program and to watch an archived web cast, click here.
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