|
The Boy Scouts have sued the city for attempting to kick the local council out of its building near the Parkway. For the uninitiated: Those who do their duty to do their best to God and their country also don’t allow gays to do any of that in their little club, so the city decided it was kicking the Cradle of Liberty Council out of its 22nd and Winter building (which the city leases to the Scouts for one dollar a year.)
The Scouts’ lawsuit says the city leases property to about 100 groups with membership criteria for under $2,000 a year, without any attempt to kick them out of their properties.
The lawsuit mentions the Roman Catholic Church of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which the suit says has paid a nominal rent for a church building in Pennypack Park since 1935; Zion Baptist Church, which pays $25 a year to lease three parcels of recreational land for the Clara Baldwin Home for seniors; and Women for Greater Philadelphia and the Colonial Dames of America, which have free perpetual leases for historic mansions in Fairmount Park. “This city allows numerous organizations to use city-owned property and does not necessarily refuse them based on restrictions on membership,” said Center City lawyer Jason P. Gosselin, who filed the suit on behalf of the Cradle of Liberty Council.
City Solicitor Shelley R. Smith said she believes the difference between the Boy Scouts and the other groups that lease city land or buildings is that the other groups do not discriminate in the social services they provide. Smith said you cannot be a Boy Scout if you are openly gay or an atheist: “If we find that these other groups are doing that, we will take the appropriate action.”
You got that, atheists? You gotta get down to the courthouse and file all your complaints against the Colonial Dames of America.
In related news, Congress is having a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts. Up to $3.5 million! Update: And Ron Paul voted for the bill. He secretly loves the federal reserve!
Boy Scouts sue city in building dispute [Inquirer]
|
