Index

The following are some of the organizations that are opposed to the Scouts' policy on homosexuality, divided into the following groupings:

• National: The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism issued a statement calling on Jewish families and synagogues to sever ties with BSA, calling the Scout policy incompatible with the organization's beliefs.
• National: Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church stated that BSA's policy of denying membership based entirely on sexual orientation conflicts with the social principles of the denomination.
• National: The Episcopal General Convention passed a resolution encouraging BSA to allow adult leaders to serve regardless of their sexual orientation.
• National: Unitarian Universalist Association after the decision release: "We call upon the Boy Scouts of America to end their discrimination against gays...."
• Chapel Hill, NC: Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church ended its 39-year sponsorship of two BSA groups in protest of the BSAâs policy
• Oak Park, IL: Cornerstone Church had its application to charter a Boy Scout troop rejected because the church stated that it refuses to comply with the BSAâs anti-gay policy
• Palm Beach, FL: Two Jewish Community Centers - the Kaplan JCC and the Adolph and Rose Levis JCC - ended sponsorship of BSA troops in protest of the anti-gay policy.
• Denver, CO: Temple Emanuel has informed BSA that troops may no longer meet in its synagogue, and the Temple's Rabbi Steven Foster returned his Boy Scout badges
• Denver, CO: Washington Park United Church of Christ ended its 60-year association with BSA with a "seperation ceremony" due to the anti-gay policy.
• Madison, WI: Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ ended its sponsorship of a troop because of the BSA's policy.
• East Brunswick, NJ: Temple B'nai Shalom ended its affiliation with two Boy Scout groups in protest of the BSA's policy.
• Coral Gables, FL: Temple Judea voted to sever ties with its 49-year-old Boy Scout troop because of the BSA's policy
• Taunton, MA: Union Congregational Church, a United Church of Christ congregation, announced that it will no longer sponsor a Scout troop or give them meeting space in protest of the BSA's policy.
• Golden Valley, MN: Breck School, an Episcopal institution in, said it would no longer sponsor a Cub Scout pack that includes its students, because 'the Boy Scouts' policy of exclusion is in direct conflict with Breck's fundamental values of diversity and inclusion.'
• Ocean Township, NJ: St. Anselm's Roman Catholic Church has drawn up a policy requiring groups that use its facilities must include everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or other distinctions.
• Norman, OK: St. Andrews United Methodist Church discontinued its charter relationship with Cub Scout Pack 70 in August.
• Squirrel Hill, NJ: St. Edmund's Academy, a nondenominational school with Episcopal roots, announced in January 2001 that it would no longer sponsor a Cub Scout pack unless the BSA changes its anti-gay policy.

• Leaders of the BSA councils of New York City; Los Angeles; Chicago; West Los Angeles; Orange County, California; San Francisco; Philadelphia; Minneapolis; and Boston: At the Scouts' national meeting, these leaders proposed that the Scouts allow churches, schools, and other chartering organizations to decide for themselves whether to have gay scout members and leaders.
• Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America: In a hearing of the New York City Council, council officials testified, "We firmly believe that anyone of any sexual orientation can live up to [Boy Scout] standards," vowing to try to convince the BSAâs national offices to change its policy.
• Oak Park, IL: Seven Cub Scout packs were expelled from Scouting in January after they informed BSA that they could not comply with the anti-gay policy because it conflicted with city ordinances and school policies that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation.
• Piedmont, CA, Piedmont Council: Has informed BSA that it intends to defy the BSA's policy
• Madison, WI, Cub Scout Pack 302: Has informed BSA of its opposition to the anti-gay policy; has been warned that its charter may be revoked*Four Lakes Council (Wisconsin): Adopted resolution asking the national organization to change its anti-gay membership policy
• Richmond, CA, Sea Explorers: Has its own non-discrimination policy, in defiance of the BSA's stance
• San Jose, CA, Troop 260: Has its own non-discrimination policy, in defiance of the BSA's stance
• Westwood, CA Cub Scout Pack 34: Has vowed to defy the policy and is considering forming a new group separate from BSA
• Boston, MA, Minutemen Council: Has its own non-discrimination policy, in defiance of the BSA's stance
• Ann Arbor, MI, Cub Scout Pack 33: Adoped its own non-discrimination policy; when told by local BSA council they couldnât do that, the pack dis-affiliated and became a Camp Fire Boys and Girls group
• St. Paul, MN, Indian Head Council: Passed a resolution asking BSA to reconsider its policy
• Montclair, NJ, Cub Scout Pack 5: Parents protested the policy with a petition
• Binghamton, NY, Baden-Powell Council: Passed a resolution asking BSA to reconsider its policy
• Ashland, OR, Cub Scout Den 2 of Pack 320: Withdrew from BSA in protest of the policy
• Providence, RI, Narragansett Council: Has twice asked BSA to reconsider its policy
• Providence, RI, Cub Scout Pack 88: Den leaders announced that they will defy the BSA's policy
• Providence, RI, Boy Scout Troop 28: Sent a letter to its council announcing that it will defy the BSA's policy

• Spurred by opposition to BSA's anti-gay policy, the American Medical Association adopted a resolution stating that youth groups should lift bans on membership for gay youth because these bans contribute to anxiety and depression among gay youth and are bad public health policy;
• The Rhode Island Medical Society adopted a resolution saying that the Boy Scouts' anti-gay membership policy increases the likeliness of gay youth to be depressed and to commit suicide. At the annual American Medical Association (AMA) meeting this year, the organization urged the AMA to adopt a similar resolution that would apply to all youth organizations.
• Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg stepped down from an advisory board of the BSA in April of 2001, stating, "The last few years in Scouting have deeply saddened me to see the Boy Scouts of America actively and publicly participating in discrimination. Itâs a real shame."
• John Archer, longtime philanthropist and activist in Salem, MA, cut ties with the BSA over its discriminatory policy.
• Michael R. Bloomberg, founder and chief executive of Bloomberg, L.P., spoke out against the BSA's policy of discrimination while being inducted into the Eagle Scout Hall of Fame in November of 2000
• Justice James R. Lambden of the California State Court of Appeals has cut his ties with BSA, saying the group's policy is unacceptable and raises ethical questions for all California judges
• New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele declined to accept the Boy Scouts' invitation to be honored at a dinner because of the BSA policy
• Curtis Hainds, an Eagle Scout who was a member of the Order of the Arrow and was named American Legion Eagle Scout of the Year for the state of Missouri in 1992, resigned in 1999 because of the BSA policy
• Rabbi Paul Menitoff, Executive Director of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, esigned his Eagle Scout rank and Order of the Arrow status in protest of the policy
• Frank Edward Allen, head of the Institutes for Journalism and National Resources and an Eagle Scout since 1962, and his eldest son Zachary, an Eagle Scout since 1993, turned in their medals in protest of the policy
• Gary Levitz, a major donor to the United Way of Johnson County, IA, resigned as campaign chairman of the United Way because of the agency's support of BSA, stating that United Way promotes anti-gay discrimination by supporting the Scouts.
• National Education Association Representative Assembly adopted July 2000: "NEA will urge state and local affiliates to work with school boards to establish policies requiring that all private organizations using school facilities have non-discriminatory membership policies"
• Communications Workers of America cut off ties to BSA and issued an Executive Board Resolution stating, "Teaching intolerance is a very poor lesson for our youth... CWA calls upon its local unions and members to refrain from supporting or participating in activities of the Boy Scouts."
• Triangle Community Works, a nonprofit organization serving the gay and lesbian population in Chapel Hill, NC, refused to accept contributions from its local United Way because it continues to support the BSA.
• Charlotte HIV/AIDS People Support, an AIDS agency in Port Charlotte, FL, announced in November of 2000 that it will not accept contributions from a BSA food drive due to the Scouts' discrimination
• Evergreen AIDS Foundation in Bellingham, WA announced that it would no longer accept funds from its local United Way because it also funded BSA; shortly thereafter, the local United Way amended its anti-discrimination policy
• Parris N. Glendening, Governor of Maryland, voiced his opposition to BSA policy in a letter to the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland
• Former President Bill Clinton, in an interview with The Advocate, publicly stated his feelings on the BSA's policy: "I think the policy is wrong... I believe they'll change, and I think we should keep working on them."
• Syracuse University no longer will allow the Boy Scouts' Boy Power fund-raiser to take place on the campus. The University's Chancellor said that he could not allow the Boy Scouts to raise money that would further BSA's policies, which include exclusion based on sexual orientation.