Re: Adult membership in Scouting
Settummanque, the blackeagle (waltoml@WKUVX1.WKU.EDU)
Mon, 11 Sep 1995 22:42:24 CDT
April Flipse via Robert C Flipse <flipse@PHILLY.NOSC.MIL> writes:
(much deleted only to conserve space)
>( What keeps running through my mind is a question - Shouldn't spousal abuse
>be just as UNACCEPTABLE as child abuse in this organization? If an unproven
>accusation of the latter gets you removed, shouldn't criminal charges filed
>by the cops have the same effect? )
Without attempting to "Columbo" my way through this, your answer is a
"yes" and a "no".
Let me take the no first, because it will perhaps upset you, April.
No, because the BSA as an organization don't NORMALLY enter into
personal affairs between adults. Since this situation, as it relates
to youth, has little to do with relationships between youth and adult,
SOME local Council executives would forgo the risk of lawsuit if it
came out that the female was the "guilty party", or if charges are
dropped and therefore there would be no LAWFUL reason why he should
not continue as a registered Scouter.
The Scout Oath and Law are the Council Executive's "yardstick" in
determining whether or not a Scouter is "setting an appropriate
example". In this case, it *could* be used as the basis for a
"denial of registration" letter, that we've talked about here on
Scouts-L in the past. However, that Scout Executive knows that he or
she treads on very thin ice if he or she issues the letter and then
the Council becomes a party in a libel suit. And because the
repuation of the BSA and the local Council will be used to demostrate
to a judge or jury the extreme amount of "discriminiation" and
"recusal" that was caused by his outster....well, you can say
"Cha-Ching!" really deep, because that's about the amount of money he
could get -- and that's just from the BSA! If the papers write
stories on his relationship with Scouting, welll..... Cha-Ching!
again.
Now for the "yes" part, now that I've made you more upset. The
Council Scout Executive and him ALONE can deny ANYONE membership in
the BSA, as I wrote, without any more reason than "I feel this person
does NOT meet the BSA's standards for membership". This can be a
PERMANENT or TEMPORARY refusal of membership, and in most serious
cases, it's permanent. Yes, he can appeal it to the Region and again
to the National Executive Board, but if he was removed based on his
public actions with his wife, and the charges stick, and based on
witness statements, yeah, he can be removed.
As someone else mentioned here earlier, please let it all "run it's
course" and let the Council Executive do the investigation and
whatever else he needs to do.
I wanted to present both sides, April, because everyone thinks that
this "BSA membership thing" is something that should be free and clear
or something that "should only belong to the "clean and pure" of all
of us.
Hope this helps!
Settummanque!
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