BofA Changes Mind on Scouts After Reviewing Policy on Gays

By Teresa Moore, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 19, 1992

	The Bank of America has reversed its controversial de-
cision to withhold donations to the Boy Scouts of America, 
after deciding that the organization does not discriminate 
against homosexual youths.

	The decision yesterday to resume contributions came 
just days after the bank's initial action was criticized in 
the Republican Party platform.  But the bank denied that its 
decision had anything to do with public pressure.

	"Our understanding is that they have been discrimina-
tory in the past," said Peter Magnani, a spokesman for the 
San Francisco-based bank.  "They have clarified that now 
they are open to all boys."

	But an official for the national scouting organization 
said that interpretation is inaccurate.

	Blake Lewis, a national Boy Scouts spokesman, said that 
official interpretation of the phrase "morally straight" in 
the scouting oath means "not homosexual."  Gay youths are 
"not eligible" to be Scouts, Lewis said.

	"We have always maintained that 'morally straight' 
speaks to the fact that young people are expected to live a 
life of high standards that are consistent with the 
expectations of mainstream American families," Lewis said.

	Two months ago, the bank announced that it would cease 
to donate to the Scouts because the group's policy banning 
gay members was at odds with the bank's nondiscrimination 
policy.  The bank's decision was met with an angry outcry 
from Scout supporters and religious fundamentalists, who 
picketed the bank and withdrew money from its accounts.  
Last week, Republican Party members crafting a "traditional 
values" platform implied that Bank of America and other 
institutions that cut funds to the Scouts were undermining 
"family values."

	In the midst of the uproar surrounding their decision, 
the bank, which is headed by former Boy Scout Richard 
Rosenberg, initiated a series of communications with the 
national leadership of the Boy Scouts of America.

	Magnani said that after consulting with Boy Scouts of 
America President John Clendenin, the bank concluded that 
the youth organization is open to all boys who subscribe to 
the Scout oath and law.  Clendenin could not be reached for 
comment.

	"Our understanding is that scouting is open to all 
boys--including gay boys," Magnani said.  On this basis, he 
said, bank executives decided that the youth program was 
indeed eligible for corporate donations.

	Magnani said the bank acknowledges that the Boy Scouts 
prohibits homosexuals as leaders but found that not to be a 
sufficient reason to deny them funds.  He said the bank's 
primary concern is the youngsters the organization was 
established to serve.

	"Leadership isn't the same issue for us," Magnani said.  
"Our criterion is that they make their services available to 
kids."

	Wells Fargo Bank and Levi Strauss are two other corpo-
rations that announced several weeks ago that they would 
withhold donations from the Boy Scouts as long as the 
organization continued to discriminate.  Representatives of 
both companies said that they had no intention of reversing 
their positions.

	When Levi Strauss approached the Boy Scouts several 
months ago for a clarification of the Scouts' membership 
policies, it received a very different answer than what Bank 
of America says it was told.

	"They wrote us back and said that they exclude gays and 
atheists as leaders and members," said Mary Gross, 
spokeswoman for the clothing company.

	"'The Boy Scouts of America does not accept homosexuals 
as members or leaders,'" Gross said, reading from a letter 
from Boy Scouts spokesman Lewis.

	"According to our direct communication, the Boy Scouts 
of America has confirmed to us that it excludes on the basis 
of sexual orientation and religious beliefs and has no plans 
to change those policies," Gross said.

	Ken McPherson, spokesman for Forgotten Scouts, a na-
tional group that lobbies for official inclusion of ho-
mosexuals in scouting, blamed Boy Scouts officials for 
creating confusion.

	"Either the Boy Scouts have made a major change in 
their policy or they are duping the Bank of America into 
thinking that they are allowing young gay people into 
Scouts," he said.


   CONTACT:  Bank of America Corporate Public Relations

          Peter Magnani, 415/953-2418
          John Keane, 415/622-2773