NewsWrap for the week ending March 28th, 1998 (As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #522, distributed 03-30-98) [Compiled & written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Martin Rice, Rex Wockner, Linda Rothman, Frank Stoltze, Greg Gordon & Lucia Chappelle] Anchored by David Hunt and Cindy Friedman The California State Supreme Court ruled unanimously this week that the Boy Scouts of America is a private club which can discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, and not a business subject to state laws against discrimination. The decision is final, but has no direct impact outside California. It ends the lawsuit filed by open gay Tim Curran in 1981, when the San Francisco Bay area Mount Diablo Council of the Boy Scouts rejected his application to serve as a scout leader after he was identified as a gay man in a newspaper article. The California ruling is exactly opposite to the finding earlier this month by a New Jersey appellate court. The main opinion in the case said, "We emphasize at the outset that the resolution of this matter does not turn on our personal views of the wisdom or morality of the actions or policies that are challenged in this case." It noted that the Scouts are not "free to exclude boys from membership on the basis of race, or on other constitutionally suspect grounds," because that might violate other laws, such as federal regulations for maintaining tax- exempt status. Although the Scouts carry out substantial sales activities on a national scale, the California court noted that nonmembers cannot simply buy their way into Scouting activities. The court found that Scouting is exempt from California's Unruh Civil Rights Act because, "The Boy Scouts is an expressive social organization whose primary function is the inculcation of values in its youth members," who "meet regularly in small groups (often in private homes) that are intended to foster close friendship, trust and loyalty. The court found that membership carried moral obligations and that Scouting "has taken a consistent position that homosexuality is immoral." Greg Shields: "The Boy Scouts of America has long taught traditional family values ... Greg Shields, spokesperson for the Boy Scouts of America national headquarters in Dallas. Greg Shields: “... homosexuals are not role models for the traditional family values that we teach. Accordingly, we don't offer avowed homosexuals leadership or membership positions in the Boy Scouts of America. Curran told reporters, "This is the sort of victory that the Boy Scouts should be ashamed of. Boy Scouts hold a unique position in American life and one of the things that they say is defend and protect the rights of other people. I just think what they're doing here is hypocritical. Even though they won, I'm not sure it is the type of victory the Boy Scouts should be happy about. ... It's really a shame that this terrific, terrific program has been hijacked by the religious right." Carl Ralley: "Boy Scouts are pleased with the outcome of the court decision ... Carl Ralley, a spokesperson for the Mount Diablo Council that rejected Curran's application. Carl Ralley: “... the Boy Scouts will continue to d eliver the type of values to its membership that it has for many years.” The California Supreme Court had heard in tandem with Curran's case another lawsuit brought by twin Scouts who had been ousted from their troop because they are agnostic. The high court also issued its unanimous ruling in that case, that the Scouts were free to discriminate against those unwilling to swear to its oath of "duty to God." Jon Davidson: "It's wrong, whoever's being discriminated against... Jon Davidson, an attorney with Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, presented Curran's case to the California high court. Jon Davidson: “... 'A Boy Scout is prejudiced' should not be a 13th point of the Scout law. I also think it's a frightening thing to have our country's largest and most important youth organization telling gay youth that they are unacceptable, at a time when studies show that gay boys are seven times more likely than the national average to commit suicide ... and I don't understand how people can support an organization that is harming children in this way." U.S. Navy Petty Officer Tim McVeigh was back in court this week trying to regain his former position as top enlisted man on a fast-attack nuclear submarine. The Navy had attempted to dismiss him for homosexuality based solely on an America Online profile with gay content which was connected to him only by evidence a court found to have been illegally obtained. But although the Navy broke the rules and McVeigh has had an exemplary record in his 17 years of service, he's been serving in labor and clerical positions at severely reduced pay and without chance of advancement, since the investigation began six months ago. The Navy admitted this week that a Chief of the Boat position had come open since McVeigh was cleared by a federal court, but that he wasn't felt to be the best qualified candidate. Apparently still assuming McVeigh's homosexuality -- and his shipmates' homophobia -- the Department of Justice cited the "confined conditions" on submarines. Judge Stanley Sporkin ordered the Navy to justify that decision. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which bills itself as "the nation's leading group of professionals providing health care to women," agreed this week to allow the national Gay & Lesbian Medical Association to exhibit at its May conference. Earlier this month, the OB- GYN's had rejected the gay physicians' application, saying in a letter that, "Your service would not benefit or be of interest to the majority of our membership." When that decision became public, protests forced the conference organizers to give GLMA another look. They then found that the gay doctors were not a "special issue advocacy group" that would use their meeting for recruiting new members, but would be attending in order to provide education on lesbian health care issues. Romanian lesbian Mariana Cetiner was finally released this week from prison, where she was serving a three-year sentence for attempting to seduce another woman. That's a charge which has no parallel for heterosexuals in the Romanian criminal code, leading Amnesty International to adopt Cetiner as a "prisoner of conscience." Romanian President Emil Constantinescu pardoned Cetiner, as he had earlier promised two human rights groups he would pardon anyone convicted under Romania's sodomy law who applied to him. Two previous announcements of Cetiner's release, made by Romanian government officials to Amnesty International representatives, had turned out to be false, but Amnesty has now confirmed that Cetiner is free and will be meeting with them in the coming week. Two men were executed for sodomy this week in Afghanistan. Following a traditional Islamic method applied only to sodomy cases, a wall was pushed over on top of them; three other men had survived that experience last month. Twenty-two-year-old Bismellah and 18-year-old Abdul Sami reportedly had freely confessed. Until very recently, gay men in Afghanistan were more likely to be punished by being forced to stand for hours in a public area wearing blackface, but the ruling Taleban has reinstated the use of whippings, amputations and executions to enforce its brand of Islamic morality. Zimbabwe's national Supreme Court ruled this week that Canaan Banana will have to face trial on 11 counts of sexual assault against other men, allegedly committed during the seven years he served as the nation's first post-colonial president. Banana's trial was quickly aborted in September when his attorney claimed that publicity in the case would make it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, even though no lay jury is involved. The five Supreme Court justices unanimously rejected that motion to dismiss the case. No trial date has been set. The Wisconsin legislature this week was anticipating a brief and pleasant chat from Green Bay Packers football star Reggie White, but instead the lawmakers were shocked into silence by a rambling hour-long sermon filled with racist stereotypes and homophobic sentiments. White, who is an ordained minister, called homosexuality "one of the biggest sins" and said that the U.S. has turned away from God by allowing it to "run rampant." He rejected the idea of civil rights protections for gays and lesbians, declaring himself "offended" by any comparison of sexual minorities to racial ones. He proclaimed -- falsely -- that, "In the process of history, homosexuals have never been castrated. Millions of them never died." "Homosexuality is a decision, it's not a race," said White, who is African-American. "People from all different ethnic backgrounds live in this lifestyle. But people from all different ethnic backgrounds also are liars and cheaters and malicious and back-stabbing." All these remarks came from a man who has received numerous human rights awards, in a speech that he'd intended as a call for unity among diverse groups -- racial groups, that is. It seems likely that White's remarks will hurt his chances for a second career in broadcasting and possibly lose him some lucrative endorsements. National gay and lesbian groups have demanded action from the Green Bay Packers and the National Football League, and also Campbell's Soup and Nike, which have been using White in commercials. And finally ... harking back to our lead story, the Boy Scouts' California Supreme Court victory for discrimination, columnist Mike Downey had this to say when the decision was handed down: "If I salute the Boy Scouts of America today, it won't require three fingers."