A letter to my Senator about the Helms Amendment to the U.S. Education Bill
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I'm writing to express my wish
that you vote against the Helms Boy Scout amendment to the Education Bill.
That amendment does nothing to change the existing rights of the Boy Scouts
to meet on school grounds. However, it may tie the hands of school
districts that - appropriately - attempt to withdraw the active support
that they currently provide to the Boy Scouts.
The Supreme Court has already recognized that the BSA has the right to discriminate, and that discriminatory organizations such as the BSA have a right of access to school facilities. But the "special rights" of the BSA to recruit, and to be directly sponsored by schools are not and should not be protected by federal law. In effect, the real purposed of this amendment is not to protect the BSA from discrimination, but rather to endorse the BSA's own discriminatory policies. Please don't do that. - Robin Richmond |
A Straight Perspective on Gay Rights
Robin Richmond - www.robinrichmond.com
PFLAG Cleveland - www.pflagcleveland.org
November, 2001