Comments
by Java Mann
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boy
scOUTs
Not being one to beat a dead
horse (it just makes the meat tough) I really should stop writing lengthy
columns about the Boy Scouts. The trouble is, every time I feel the situation
has reached it’s pinnacle, when I think it can’t get any worse than it
is, the situation surprises me and takes yet another giant step into the
land of the absurd. |
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Case in point: On October
17th, the Santa Barbara County (California) Supervisors met
to hear testimony as to whether the county should sever ties to the Boy
Scout’s of America, due to the Boy Scouts policy of discrimination. During
the meeting, Leonard Lanzi, the executive director of the regional council
of the BSA gave testimony. He also outed himself.
"I am a private person
and I am gay. I uphold the Boy Scout’s policies. I would not work for the
Boy Scouts if I did not know they save lives."
Lanzi had been affiliated
with the group for over fourteen years, and served in his present position
for three years. He is the highest-ranking Scout to out himself since the
Supreme Court reached it’s controversial decision. Risking understatement,
the Scouts didn’t take this well. Lanzi has been suspended, and as of October
26th, "decommissioned" as an Eagle Scout. One must wonder if
being decommissioned is as painful as it sounds.
Ok, as if this wasn’t strange
enough, the situation gets better (or worse, depending on your point of
view). Lanzi was a member of the BSA, but he is a paid employee
of
the BSA. As California has a Fair Employment and Housing Act which does
recognizes sexual orientation, it is illegal to fire an employee based
solely on his or her sexual orientation.
What it comes down to is
this: The Boy Scouts may revoke Leonard Lanzi’s membership in their organization.
They may strip him of the honors and titles he has earned,
(and, in so doing, effectively shoot themselves in the foot as this man
exemplified every good thing the scouts claim to represent,) but they cannot
fire him.
It remains to be seen if
the Scouts do intend to attempt to fire Mr. Lanzi. The wording of their
letter was vague. It is also uncertain if his suspension was the result
of an emergency vote held on the night he outed himself, or if the word
came down from the BSA’s national headquarters. Regardless, Mr. Lanzi has
acquired legal council and will "pursue all legal remedies available to
him".
Needless to say, this is
far from over.
JM
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