The murder rate in Philadelphia is abhorrent; 406 homicides in 2007. Currently, the murder rate is about a murder per day including police officers and children. Gang violence and drugs are no longer a subculture but out front and in the open.
So who does Philadelphia go after in these dark times? You guessed it: The Boy Scouts. The one group that’s doing something to keep children off the streets in meaningful numbers is being kicked out of the building they’ve been in for decades for one reason and one reason only -they don’t allow homosexuals to be scout leaders.
The Philadelphia Boy Scouts chapter is suing the city after officials ordered them to open their membership to gays, or pay 200,000 percent more in rent. Philadelphia gave them until Saturday to adhere to a local “non-discrimination” rule. If they fail to comply, the building they lease would increase from $1 a year to $200,000 a year.
Philadelphia owns the building in question and the land beneath it. But the Scouts have put about $1.5 million in renovating the building and spend about $60,000 a year to maintain it. The Scouts said that an increase in rent would force program cuts and affect the nearly 70,000 children the chapter serves.
Philadelphia is saying they can’t give preferential treatment to an organization that discriminates. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the group has the right to do so. Now mind you, the United States military has a similar policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
So with the deadline for their eviction looming, the Scouts responded on this past Friday with a federal lawsuit to stay in the building.
I just have to ask that while Philadelphia is destroying itself does the city obsess on what to do with the Boy Scouts. In short, the City of Philadelphia is showing once again that they don’t care about people, they only care about interest groups. Political correctness takes precedence over people. Shame on Philadelphia. It’s already rotting from the inside and soon the city government will destroy the city completely.
May 28, 2008 at 12:07 pm
It’s only a matter of time before the government starts coming after churches.
May 28, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Whether or not the City owns the building, the Boy Scouts built it, back in 1929. They have poured millions into maintaining it over the years, not including the most recent renovations in 1994.
The issue is not homosexuals per se, but “avowed homosexuals,” those who openly practice a gay lifestyle, and who make their sexuality an issue in the context of working with young boys. This alone is a sign of iching for a fight.
To learn more about it, go to BSALegal.org.
May 28, 2008 at 2:46 pm
So much for the City of Brotherly Love.
May 28, 2008 at 3:40 pm
As an “Exile from Broad Street,” this is pretty typical of how city government works down there. The city is burning and they just don’t care.
May 28, 2008 at 3:48 pm
It’s killing me because when I first moved here in 1995, some parts of Philly were still great neighborhoods.
It’s just getting worse and worse. It’s a shame.
And they’re riding this politically correct bandwagon straight to hell.
May 28, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Sounds like the city government feels that it’s powerless in the face of the gangs and violent crime, so they reach for whatever power they can manage. Control means power. If they can control the Boy Scouts, they can make themselves feel powerful again. Likely, the city officials are ecstatic that the issue came up, so they can look away from the disaster Philadelphia now is and pretend they’re not as impotent as they really are.
It’s never about the children. It’s never about making a positive difference in people’s lives. It’s about grown-ups feeling powerful.
Bob Hunt
May 28, 2008 at 11:35 pm
What would Mayor Rizzo have done?
Rock on Filthydelphia.
May 29, 2008 at 5:16 am
I’m not sure but I think a bat would’ve been involved.