Seven Boy Scout chapters sponsored by Parent Teacher Organizations in Oak Park have had their charters rejected by the Scouts' area council because of their gay-supportive stance.
After consulting with the Scouts' national leadership in Washington, D.C., and Dallas, the Des Plains Valley Council decided to reject the charters unless the chapters come into line with the anti-gay policy by Feb. 28 or join a pack or troop that does.
The action came after the chapters turned in their renewal applications in November, with an attachment explaining the village's and the school district's non-discrimination policies, said Ray Johnson, co-chair of the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association.
The attachment explained that if the Scouts' policies ever came into conflict with the non-discrimination mandates in the village and districts—which both cover sexual orientation—the Scouts' rules would not be followed.
The Scouts did not respond until this month with an ultimatum about following the ban on gay Scouts and Scoutmasters.
According to the Chicago Tribune, in a letter dated Jan. 24, Irene Szinavel, executive/CEO of the Boy Scouts' Des Plaines Valley Council, wrote to the Oak Park Council of PTO:
"There is therefore an inconsistency between your position and the position of the Boy Scouts of America concerning avowed homosexuals as scout leaders. For this reason, the Council regrets that it cannot execute the Annual Charter Agreement."
Gregg Shields, spokesman for the Scouts, told the Chicago Sun-Times, "If they don't agree, no one is forcing them to participate. It wouldn't be fair to the millions of members and families in the organization to allow people to pick and choose between the values and beliefs of the organization."
While Johnson acknowledged that not all Oak Park parents involved in the charter rejection are pleased, many recognize the need to align themselves and their sons with organizations that don't discriminate.
Johnson commended PTO parents for taking a stand and doing the research and legwork needed to make their decision.
"It's really a proud moment for the community," he said, adding that gay allies and activists never dreamed that their push for adding sexual orientation to the village's human-rights ordinance would land them where they are.
The PTOs are currently looking into alternatives, he said, including the Campfire for Boys organization.
The decision affects boys enrolled in one of the chapters sponsored by seven PTOs in Oak Park's District 97.
Oak Park has been a national leader in gay-rights protections for years, and it passed the country's first open-housing ordinance in 1968. In 1997, it became the first municipality in Illinois to enact a domestic-partnership registry. And in 2000, it became the state's first village to slate an open lesbian, Joanne Trapani, as a candidate for village president. She faces an April 3 election.
Johnson said the newsmagazine TV program 60 Minutes from CBS will visit Oak Park this week for a story on how community-based organizations are dealing the Boy Scouts' ban on gays.
