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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Boy Scout advocate calls on Americans to boycott Philadelphia


Chad Groening
OneNewsNow.com
October 25, 2007
http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/10/boy_scout_advocate_calls_on_am.php

An advocacy group that supports the Boy Scouts says the city of Philadelphia has clearly capitulated to the radical homosexual agenda in its recent decision to raise the rent of the local Boy Scout council office.

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. (See related story) Hans Zeiger is a spokesman for the Scouting Legal Defense Fund, a project of the American Civil Rights Union. He argues city officials are not just punishing the scouts.

"This is not just a tragedy for the Boy Scouts, it's a tragedy for the people of Philadelphia," he asserts, "because the Boy Scouts provide thousands and thousands of volunteer hours a year to the city of Philadelphia, provide after-school mentoring, provide a number of different services, make it a better quality place to live. This is of consequence to everybody who's involved," he says.

Zeiger says he does not know of any legal recourse for the scouts, but he says the American people can send a message to the city. "The only other alternative would be that Americans put a boycott on trade into Philadelphia, say we're not going to be tourists in Philadelphia, we're not going to support the city of Philadelphia until they reverse this awful decision," says the Scouting Legal Defense Fund spokesman.

He says the only way the Scouts can pay the increased rent is by taking money from funds that were to be used for after-school activities and inner-city children.