Boy
Scouts'
Rent
Skyrockets
in
Philadelphia
to
$200K
Over
Gay
Ban
Friday,
October
19,
2007
By
Catherine
Donaldson-Evans
The
Boy
Scouts'
anti-gay
policy
is
turning
out
to
be
a
pricey
proposition
for
its
Philadelphia
chapter
—
one
that
will
cost
about
$200,000
a
year,
to
be
exact.
The
city
has
ordered
the
organization
to
pay
a
fair-market
rent
of
$200,000
—
$199,999
more
than
its
current
$1
annual
rate
—
to
maintain
its
longtime
offices
in
a
landmark
Philadelphia
building
because
of
its
refusal
to
allow
openly
gay
Scouts
and
Scout
leaders.
City
Solicitor
says
Romulo
L.
Diaz
Jr.
contends
that
Mayor
John
Street,
City
Council
and
the
Fairmount
Park
Commission
(which
oversees
historic
properties)
have
been
asking
the
Scouts
for
the
past
year
to
submit
a
clear-cut
anti-discrimination
policy,
and
they
haven't
done
so.
In
order
to
comply
with
Philadelphia
laws,
he
said,
he
has
given
the
Scouts
a
choice:
agree
definitively
in
writing
to
stop
discriminating,
or
pay
a
new
rent
at
market
value.
"They
had
been
put
on
notice
over
the
last
year
by
the
mayor,
the
City
Council
and
the
Fairmount
Park
Commission
that
they
had
a
choice
to
make,"
Diaz
said
in
a
phone
interview.
"They
need
to
provide
evidence
that
they
would
not
engage
in
discriminatory
practices
against
gays
as
either
Scout
masters
or
Boy
Scouts.
....
They
have
either
not
responded
or
essentially
played
the
victim."
The
Boy
Scouts'
Philadelphia
branch,
called
the
Cradle
of
Liberty
Council,
argues
that
its
hands
are
tied
because
of
the
national
chapter's
refusal
to
reverse
its
anti-gay
policy
—
even
though,
it
says,
it
tried
to
fight
it
a
few
years
ago.
The
city
Scouts
say
they
agreed
on
a
compromise
with
the
prior
solicitor
—
which
involved
the
adoption
of
a
promise
not
to
engage
in
"unlawful
discrimination"
similar
to
one
the
New
York
chapter
has
—
and
claims
the
current
solicitor
has
an
ulterior
motive
because
he
himself
is
openly
gay.
"We
adopted
a
non-discrimination
policy
in
2005
with
the
city's
help,
which
is
ironic
now,"
said
Cradle
of
Liberty
spokesman
Jeff
Jubelirer.
"Since
that
time,
there's
been
no
one
challenging
the
policy,
no
reports
of
discrimination.
Nothing
has
come
to
the
public's
attention.
And
yet
the
current
solicitor
thinks
this
language
is
not
clear
enough.
"It's
been
reported
that
the
solicitor
is
openly
homosexual
—
and
who
cares
—
but
I
wonder
if
it's
something
that
he
and
members
of
the
activist
gay
community
want:
to
kick
the
Boy
Scouts
out
of
their
building."
Diaz
declined
to
answer
questions
about
his
sexual
orientation,
but
said
it
was
irrelevant
because
his
job
was
to
enforce
what
the
city
has
voted
and
agreed
on.
"I'm
doing
my
job,"
he
said.
"I'm
taking
it
on
because
I
was
directed
by
the
mayor,
City
Council
and
the
Fairmount
Park
Commission."
The
Beaux
Arts
1928-era
building
stands
on
land
owned
by
the
city,
and
Philadelphia
officials
say
they
can't
legally
rent
taxpayer-owned
property
for
such
a
low
sum
to
a
private
group
known
to
discriminate.
The
Boy
Scouts
have
use
of
the
entire
historic
building
and
its
parking
lot,
according
to
Diaz.
"Wouldn't
you
expect
the
Cradle
of
Liberty
Council
to
really
set
the
example
for
what
in
2007
we
would
expect
in
a
modern
civil
society,
to
be
inclusive
and
welcome
everyone
to
their
ranks?"
the
solicitor
said.
The
Cradle
of
Liberty
Council
has
until
Dec.
3
of
this
year
to
either
accept
the
new
$200,000
rent
or
vacate
the
building.
They
will
have
to
start
paying
the
spiked
rent
in
order
to
avoid
being
evicted
from
Beaux
Arts,
located
at
22nd
and
Winter
streets,
after
May
31,
2008.
Jubelirer
said
that
though
the
Boy
Scouts
of
America
won't
allow
openly
gay
members
or
leaders,
there
is
something
of
a
"don't
ask,
don't
tell"
policy
within
the
organization.
"We
know
there
are
gay
Scouts,"
he
said.
"Of
course
there
are.
We
don't
care.
Nobody
cares.
We
tried
to
change
the
policy.
National
wouldn't
allow
us.
We're
trying
to
do
the
right
thing
as
all
parties
are
concerned."
Diaz
said
such
a
philosophy
is
contradictory,
and
is
still
flat-out
discrimination.
"You
cannot
welcome
people
when
you
say
to
them
publicly,
you're
not
welcome
if
you're
gay,
but
privately
you
can
come
in,"
he
said.
"No
one
is
going
to
feel
welcome
or
want
to
apply.
It's
like
(posting
a
job
and
saying),
if
you're
a
homosexual,
don't
apply
here.
That
should
enrage
people."
The
Girl
Scouts
of
America
—
including
the
Philadelphia
chapter
—
has
no
such
anti-gay
policy.
"The
Girl
Scouts
of
America
do
not
discriminate,"
Diaz
said.
"They
pay
for
the
use
of
city
facilities.
Why
wouldn't
you
expect
the
Boy
Scouts
of
America
to
meet
the
standards
of
the
Girl
Scouts?
There
is
no
major
non-profit
that
I'm
aware
of
in
Philadelphia
that
allows
that
kind
of
discrimination."
Scouting
officials
will
ask
the
city
solicitor
for
details
on
the
appraisals
that
yielded
the
$200,000
figure,
which
Jubelirer
called
"shocking."
The
higher
rent
money
"would
have
to
come
from
programs.
That's
30
new
Cub
Scout
packs,
or
800
needy
kids
going
to
our
summer
camp,"
he
said.
The
city
and
the
Scouts
have
been
disputing
the
matter
for
years,
but
haven't
been
able
to
reach
an
agreement.
Diaz
contends
that
his
office
has
sent
numerous
letters
since
the
summer
of
2006
informing
the
Scouts
of
the
city's
stance,
but
to
no
avail.
The
Supreme
Court
ruled
in
2000
that
the
Scouts,
as
a
private
group,
have
a
First
Amendment
right
to
bar
gays
from
membership.
The
Philadelphia
branch
adopted
a
nondiscrimination
policy
in
2003,
but
was
ordered
to
revoke
it
by
the
National
Council,
which
said
local
chapters
cannot
deviate
from
national
rules
barring
participation
by
anyone
who
is
openly
gay.
Jubelirer
said
he
isn't
sure
why
the
national
Boy
Scouts
refuse
to
change
the
anti-homosexual
policy.
"There's
a
long
history,
whether
it
be
morals
or
what
have
you,"
he
said.
"It's
just
something
they
feel
very
strongly
about."
The
Cradle
of
Liberty
Council
serves
about
64,000
scouts
in
Philadelphia
and
its
suburbs
in
two
nearby
counties.
They've
been
at
the
Beaux
Arts
building
since
it
went
up
in
1928.
The
Associated
Press
contributed
to
this
report.
If
you
do
not
ever
forward
anything
else,
please
forward
this
to
all
your
contacts...this
is
very
scary
to
think
of
what
lies
ahead
of
us
here
in
our
own
United
States...better
heed
this
and
pray
about
it
and
share
it.
THIS
DEFINITELY
WARRANTS
LOOKING
INTO.
THIS
COUNTRY
WAS
FOUNDED,
"ONE
NATION
UNDER
GOD".
ALMIGHTY
GOD,
NOT
THE
GOD
OF
THE
KORAN.
Who
is
Barack
Obama?
We
checked this
out
on
"snopes.com".
It
is
factual.
Check
for
yourself.
Probable
U.
S.
presidential
candidate,
Barack
Hussein
Obama
was
born
in
Honolulu,
Hawaii,
to
Barack
Hussein!
Obama,
Sr.,
a
black
MUSLIM
from
Nyangoma-Kogel,
Kenya
and
Ann
Dunham,
a
white
ATHIEST
from
Wichita,
Kansas.
Obama's
parents
met
at
the
University
of
Hawaii.
When
Obama
was
two
years
old,
his
parents
divorced.
His
father
returned
to
Kenya.
His
mother
then
married
Lol
o
Soetoro,
a
RADICAL
Muslim
from
Indonesia.
When
Obama
was
6
years
old,
the
family
relocated
to
Indonesia.
Obama
attended
a
MUSLIM
school
in
Jakarta.
He
also
spent
two
years
in
a
Catholic
school.
Obama
takes
great
care
to
conceal
the
fact
that
he
is
a
Muslim.
He
is
quick
to
point
out
that,
"He
was
once
a
Muslim,
but
that
he
also
attended
Catholic
school."
Obama's
political
handlers
are
attempting
to
make
it
appear
that
Obama's
introduction
to
Islam
came
via
his
father,
and
that
this
influence
was
temporary
at
best.
In
reality,
the
senior
Obama
returned
to
Kenya
soon
after
the
divorce,
and
never
again
had
any
direct
influence
over
his
son's
education.
Lolo
Soetoro,
the
second
husband
of
Obama's
mother,
Ann
Dunham,
introduced
his
stepson
to
Islam.
Obama
was
enrolled
in
a
Wahabi
school
in
Jakarta.
Wahabism
is
the
RADICAL
teaching
that
is
followed
by
!
the
Mus
lim
terrorists
who
are
now
waging
Jihad
against
the
western
world.
Since
it
is
politically
expedient
to
be
a
CHRISTIAN
when
seeking
Major
public
office
in
the
United
States,
Barack
Hussein
Obama
has
joined
the
United
Church
of
Christ
in
an
attempt
to
downplay
his
Muslim
background.
ALSO,
k
e
ep
in
mind
that
when
he
was
sworn
into
office
he
DID
NOT
use
the
Holy
Bible,
but
instead
the
Koran
(Their
equevelancy
to
our
Bible,
but
very
different
beliefs)
Let
us
all
remain
alert
concerning
Obama's
expected
presidential
candidacy.
The
Muslims
have
said
they
plan
on
destroying
the
US
from
the
inside
out,
what
better
way
to
start
than
at
the
highest
level
-
through
the
President
of
the
United
States,
one
of
their
own!!!!
Please
forward
to
everyone
you
know.
Would
you
want
this
man
leading
our
country?......
NOT
ME!!!