Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 23:39:06 -0400 From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG Schenectady NY Boy Scouts Letter April 22, 2000 Schenectady Daily Gazette Box 1090 Schenectady, NY 12301 Dear Editors: Susan Staver's April 19 letter about Dale v. Boy Scouts of America missed two important points: Boy Scout troops are already sponsored by religious institutions with policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, several of which have filed briefs on behalf of James Dale; and the Scouts' entanglement with all levels of government goes far beyond `meeting in public schools.' The Scouts claim to be a secular organization when they are accepting public funds, then claim to be a private religious organization with an inherent right to free association when they are asked not to discriminate. Government-funded, government-sponsored monopolies should not discriminate on the basis of religion or orientation. Staver is right that the case is about religious liberty, but it's about establishment, not free exercise. Sincerely, Barbara Lamond Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators The above letter was sent on IWG letterhead listing 19 congregations and religious organizations and 65 clergy from 16 religious traditions. You can show your support by wearing an Interfaith Working Group shirt: http://www.iwgonline.org/clothes/ -- Interfaith Working Group PO Box 11706 Philadelphia, PA 19101 http://www.iwgonline.org/ iwg@iwgonline.org voice: 215-235-3050 fax: 215-232-0829