Scouts make a deal, keep policy on gays

NICOLE WHITE
nwhite@herald.com

AGREEMENT: Jorge Mursuli, executive director of the group SAVE Dade, discusses the accord Tuesday in Miami as Jeffrie Herrmann of the Boy Scouts listens.

A year after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Boy Scouts of Americas' right to ban gays, Dade Boy Scouts have agreed to give up public funding, stop recruiting at public schools, and develop a training program to help its leaders to deal more sensitively with gay youth.

Tuesday's agreement, one of the first of its kind nationally, came after months of dialogue between the South Florida Council of Boy Scouts, Safeguarding American Values for Everyone (SAVE) Dade and United Way of Miami-Dade.

Heralded as a modest, yet key step in addressing the way the local Scouts deal with gay youth, the agreement does not change the reality for members: the national policy banning gays in the Boy Scouts still applies.

``We have no intention of changing our policy at this time,'' said Scouts executive Jeffrie Herrmann. ``But we have an obligation to help kids deal with this issue.''

The agreement represents a conscious effort by the groups to help redefine their relationship, toning down some of the previous rhetoric and attempting, where possible, to resist outside efforts to encourage friction, said Jorge Mursuli, executive director of SAVE Dade.

``We acknowledge the court's decision and wish it were different, but our strategy was to figure out how to take care of all kids in our community, not fight over something we couldn't change,'' Mursuli said.

The dialogue has been effective, Herrmann said, because it helped all parties focus on helping the community's children, ``without pushing their own agenda.''

According to the agreement:

The training plan, still in development, would be crafted with the help of Miami's Project Yes -- a local group that educates about the needs of gay youth.

In lieu of $125,000 in county funding, the Scouts will seek private donations, which the group acknowledges could be more lucrative.

The Scouts have also pledged to sue other groups who use the organizations' name to further their own agenda. One example: Broward's Equal Rights Not Special Rights has tried to use the Scouts to repeal Broward's gay-rights ordinance.

Although the Scouts can still use Miami-Dade public schools, the group will not recruit during school hours. The school system will no longer sponsor in-school Boy Scout Troops or Cub Scout packs.

United Way of Miami-Dade also will continue to facilitate dialogue between the groups while providing funding for under-served youth, including gay kids.

SAVE Dade and other gay community leaders also will help educate the community on the importance of respecting access to public schools and freedom of association laws.

``Although fierce battle lines had been drawn after the court's decision, we decided to try a different approach here in Miami,'' said Harve Mogul, United Way of Miami president.

United Way will continue to fund the Boy Scouts locally, although Mogul said the donor pool had shrunk after the group's decision to support the Boy Scouts.

Although the Boy Scouts are in initial talks with gay leaders in Broward County about a similar compromise, the decisions reached in Miami-Dade aren't expected overnight.

United Way of Broward pulled its financial support of the Scouts shortly after the court's ruling.

The Boy Scouts are also still waiting on the Broward County School Board to decide how much, if any, rent they will charge the scouts and other groups to hold meetings at their schools. The board had voted earlier this year to bar the Boy Scouts from its facilities because the group bans gay children and scout leaders. The county has a ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

A federal judge ruled that the board could not ban the Boy Scouts from using its facilities.

Scott Cozza, president of Scouting for All, based in San Francisco, welcomed the Boy Scouts' effort to educate and sensitize their leaders but cautioned that it fell short. ``This is a step in realizing that we have more similarities than differences. But while education helps, you cannot compromise human rights.'' Scouting for All advocates expanding Boy Scout membership to include gays.