ACLU demands ouster of Boy Scouts

A central California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has petitioned officials in two cities, demanding that local Boy Scouts of America chapters pay for access to a public building and traditional campsite or be forced from the premises.

According to the San Luis Obispo Tribune, the ACLU has threatened to sue the city of San Luis Obispo and nearby Atascadero if leases for the Camp French campsite and access to the Atascadero Lake Pavilion building are not changed or terminated.

Citing the BSA's policy of not admitting gays, lesbians and atheists, the local ACLU chapter said the cities' policies were "tragically misguided" and should be changed immediately.

The local San Luis Obispo chapter of the ACLU was enjoined in the complaint by the southern California chapter last week, reports said. Letters have already been sent to local city officials demanding the changes.

However, the paper reported, Roy Hanley -- the city attorney for Atascadero -- said in his opinion the pavilion lease is valid and legal because local Scout troops have reimbursed the city by making extensive improvements to the 1,600-square foot meeting room the BSA uses regularly.

"Our letters ask the county and the city of Atascadero to stop subsidizing discrimination by giving rent-free leases to the Boy Scouts," Martha Matthews, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California, told the newspaper.

"Continuing this subsidy of the Boy Scouts would violate California's constitutional guarantees of equal protection and of separation of church and state and would also be vulnerable to a taxpayer suit for waste of public resources," Matthews wrote in letters sent to both cities, pointing out that the ACLU recently filed suit against the city of San Diego for allegedly similar circumstances.

The paper said the BSA troops have used the Camp French facility without complaint or incident for 25 years. County officials allow Scouts to use it rent-free in exchange for making -- and paying for -- improvements to the campsite and surrounding area.

The Tribune said the pavilion building and the Camp French site are also available for use by other civic groups, though the BSA has first rights to them.

The pavilion was built in the 1980s, but because of a local recession, the vast meeting room used by the Scouts was left unfinished. Since then, Scouts have stepped forward and have finished the room, making improvements and refining the facility.

The lease for the Pavilion room expires in 2006. The Camp French lease is good through 2031, the paper said.

The California cases are only the latest in a series of legal assaults following last year's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that the BSA was a private organization and could make its own rules regarding membership of staff and scouts alike.

Cities across the country have either voted to ban BSA troops from once-accessible public places and buildings or are considering such action, even as long-time corporate sponsors have decided to stop funding BSA activities.

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