NewsMax.com

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004 8:39 p.m. EST
American Legion Blasts DoD Boy Scouts Ruling

The leader of the nation's largest military veterans organization today admonished the Pentagon and America's leaders to stand firm against another move by the ACLU against the Boy Scouts of America who it claimed "engage in religious discrimination."

In a strongly worded letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, American Legion National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus responded to news that the Pentagon has agreed to warn military bases worldwide that they should not directly sponsor Boy Scout troops, partially resolving claims that the government has improperly supported a group that requires members to believe in God.

"The idea that sponsorship of Scouting by American military units is 'unconstitutional' goes beyond the absurd, even well past the point of stupidity," Cadmus wrote. "How is it the government can fund chapels on military bases, and Chaplains in the military, but not accommodate Scouting? Why is it that the rank of Eagle Scout is an attribute highly sought in candidates for military academies, but will soon become unwelcome on military bases? How is it the Congress can sanction Scouting by issuing them a federal charter, but the courts can declare them 'outlaws?'"

The settlement apparently came in a 1999 lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which noted that American military units have sponsored hundreds of Boy Scout units.

"Is there no one in Washington, D.C., at the highest levels of government that will stand up for Scouts, for Scouting and support this movement that has long been an institution of highest reputation in America?" Cadmus asked. "Where's the President? Where's his Cabinet? Where's the Congress? What are the courts doing? Where is the outrage?

"For certain, outrage over this and other actions taken against the Boy Scouts of America in recent times is, today, reverberating through the ranks of The American Legion," Cadmus said. "On behalf of the 2.7 million men and women of the Legion, I am asking you to hold the line of assault on the Scouts. Stand up to the ACLU. Find a way to give those who serve our nation the chance to serve their children. Do what is necessary to blend the private organization that Scouting is with the military organization of our Republic. It has been done freely and openly for almost 100 years -- That's a precedent that cannot be disregarded."

The American Legion is one of the nation's largest sponsors of Scouting Units across the nation. The December issue of The American Legion Magazine features an article that describes the assault on Scouting entitled, "On my honor, I must fight."