DN Editorial: Scout's honor

SOMEDAY, THE United States will be a true melting pot, a country tolerant and respectful of a wide variety of viewpoints, beliefs, morals and traditions. That ideal can seem far away, especially given some of the recent battles over civil rights, but this week's decision by the Boy Scouts of America to no longer discriminate against gay leaders brings us closer to that ideal.

It follows closely on the heels of last month's Supreme Court ruling striking down laws prohibiting gay marriage, (and comes two years after the BSA lifted the ban on gay scouts), the scouts' decision is more significant because of another court ruling: 15 years ago, the Supreme Court upheld the Boy Scouts' right to discriminate against gay leaders, citing the scouts' role as a private organization. That suit was prompted by New Jersey scoutmaster James Dale who was dismissed as a scout leader when it was discovered he was gay.

So while the scouts are to be lauded, it's also a fact that 15 years is a very long time to do the right thing for an organization that provides important guidance for boys.

It's also 10 years after the scouting battle played out locally, when the city tried to evict the Cradle of Liberty Council from a city-owned building it had occupied for 80 years, on the basis that the scouts' refusal to defy the national BSA's policy discriminating against gay scouts and leaders; the city maintained that this violated the city's anti-discrimination policy. That battle was ultimately settled, with the city having to pay the scouts $825,000 and the scouts forced to look for a new home.

BSA head Robert Gates, former secretary of defense, called the ban unsustainable when announcing the policy change. Less clear are the fate of the many scout troops sponsored by religious organizations; the Mormons, for example, may move to drop their association with the Boy Scouts. Churches who sponsor scout troops will be allowed to select volunteers who comply with their teachings and beliefs.

So while the Boy Scouts may have resolved an important part of this thorny issue, conflict between antidiscrimination laws and the First Amendment, which guarantees the freedom of religious expression, will probably continue to play out.

When the Supreme Court upheld the legality of gay marriage in June, the celebrations barely got under way before skirmishes emerged over how far religious freedom goes: Some businesses wanted to deny services to gays getting married, and a court clerk who refused to process paperwork for a gay marriage based on religious beliefs was fired.

As the First Amendment Center (firstamendmentcenter.org) put it, "This painful dispute confronts the courts - and all of us - with a cruel choice between two compelling values central to the American commitment to liberty: The right of citizens to be free from discrimination in places of public accommodation is pitted against the right of religious business owners to follow their conscience in matters of faith."

We imagine these battles will continue to play out in the courts. Meanwhile, the Boy Scouts have shown courage and character by their decision to do the right thing: acknowledging that leadership, character and values are not mutually exclusive with a person's choice of who to love.