L T? if t 1P of /AM Out in the Mountains VERMONT'S NEWSPAPER FOR LESBIANS, GAY MEN, AND BISEXUALS Volume VII, Number 9 November 1 992 Unitedway of Chittendé’ll"l'f Funds Boy Scouts Cleland Selby Approximately $25,000 of this year’s $3.4 million budget of the United Way of Chittenden County will be allocated to funding for local Boy Scout troops ac- cording to Executive Director Gretchen Morse. Each United Way is locally incorporated and governed with its own set of policies. Although United Way of Chittenden County exceeds State of Vermont dis- crimination standards in its governing policy, it does not requires that those it funds meet the same standards. “The whole issue with the Boy Scouts is trou- blesome,” stated Ms. Morse as she re- ferred to the Scouts policy requiring members and leaders to be heterosexual and acknowledge the existence of god. United Way does not establish the pol- icies of the non-profit organizations which receive money through them. Ac- cording to Morse, because the Boy Scouts claim to be a religious organiza- tion and because they comply with Unit- ed Way standards requiring them to “keep records that indicate compliance with the non-discrimination policy of state and federal law,” they meet United Way of Chittenden County’s funding standards. Vermont law, according to Ms. Morse, allows for these religious exemp- trons, including the law requiring non- discrimination on the basis of sexual or- ientatron. ‘ “There_is no question that this is a con- troversial issue,” stated Morse. “We are not state or federal regulators.” She’ went on to say that the intent of United Way is to encourage non-profit organizations to follow all anti-discrimination policies that protect people regardless of their sex- ual orientation, age, race, -or gender. owever, she also said her organization could not force such policies upon mem- NOV 2 199,2 ans ber agencies r‘e‘éeiv funds. » According to Susan Sussman, Executive Director of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, a religious exemption to Verrnont’s Public Accommodations Act does not exist. Therefore Gretchen Morse may be in error when she states that Vermont law does allow for a re- ligious exemption for the Boy Scouts. Ms. Sussman was clear that the issue of employment of Boy scout personnel may or may not fall under a separate statute and could conceivably include the religious exemption to which Ms. Morse makes reference. However, if the Boy Scouts itself is not a private club but is open to the general public, then it is a place of public accommodations and falls under the provisions of the public accommodations statute. As such, while the Boy Scouts may be able to legally discriminate against lesbians and gay men in employment, discrimination against members on the basis of sexual orientation is probably illegal in Ver- mont. “There is no exemption for anyone in the Public Accommodations law for sex- ual orientation,” Sussman stated. “There is a religious exemption in employ- ment.” Sussman pointed out that there remain questions about whether the Boy Scouts fall under public accommodation statutes. In a federal court case in Il- linois in 1990, the court found that in V that state the Boy Scouts is indeed a place of public accommodation ac- cording to federal statute. The issue in Illinois was not sexual orientation, but instead related to the issue of the ac- knowledgement of god. Continued on page 3 atirtww Scouts Reaffirm Discrimination Policy J Cleland Selby When contacted about the policy posi- tion of the Green Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts regarding discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, Ex- ecutive Director David Myers chose not to comment, but instead referred all questions to Blake Lewis, national spokesperson for the Boy Scouts of America ~ Mr. Lewis stated that the Scouts have a clear and defined position on sexual or- ientation. “We have always reflected the expectations of the scouting families. We do not believe that homosexuals provide a role model consistent with these ex- pectations and so we do not allow for the registration of homosexuals as members or leaders.” Mr. Lewis went on to say that the Boy Scouts, “know what families who send their boys to become Boy Scouts ex- pect” When asked if he was aware of the Vermont law which specifically pro- hibits discrimination because of one’s sexual orientation, Mr. Lewis responded that he was not able to know the various laws in the fifty states. He then stated that the position is a firm position and that there could not be a different posi- tion for a local Boy Scout Troop. V [Z Vote ’92 Show our Strength!