Patrons won’t have free parking after troop says it can’t sign anti-discrimination pledge.
By: Jennifer Potash
A local Boy Scouts troop has moved ahead with a planned fund-raiser without the help of the Princeton Borough Council, which has at least two members who don’t agree with the national organization’s exclusion of homosexuals.
Boy Scout Troop 43 is selling Christmas trees at the Hulfish North site near Chambers Street and Paul Robeson Place.
The troop requested permission from the Borough Council to place bags over two parking meters on Chambers Street so customers could park and pick up the trees without having to feed the meters.
At a council meeting Nov. 21, Borough Councilman Ryan Stark Lilienthal moved that the council grant permission with the condition that the troop send the council a letter promising it will not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation against the youth or adult members of the troop. The council approved the motion by a 2-1 vote, with Council President Roger Martindell agreeing with Mr. Lilienthal.
A June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allows the Boy Scouts of America to bar homosexuals from being troop leaders.
"To me, the central issue was to what extent does a municipality accommodate intolerance – in this instance, a group that does discriminate against a portion of our community," Mr. Lilienthal said Monday.
The trees went on sale over the weekend without the use of meter bags. The Scouts will sell the trees weekday afternoons and all day during weekends up to Dec. 25, said Robert Wells, chairman of the fund-raiser.
"We could not submit to the demand. It’s just impossible," he said.
The troop, which has about 50 members between ages 11 to 18, would lose its charter from the Boy Scouts of America if it did so, he said.
The U. S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, overturned a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that the dismissal of a gay Scout leader had been illegal under the state’s anti-discrimination law.
The Boy Scouts argued that, as a private organization, the Scouts have the right to establish membership standards.
Since last week’s Borough Council vote, Mr. Lilienthal said he received three phone calls – two in opposition and one in support.
Mr. Lilienthal said he would not be surprised if the issue were raised by other council members or members of the public at future meetings.
Mr. Martindell said he and other council members had received calls from community members who wanted to protest the decision at an upcoming council meeting.
"If they do come to a meeting, then we’ll give them a hearing," Mr. Martindell said. "The goal in this was to have a discussion so I hope they do show up."
The council had a quorum, three members and the mayor, when it voted on the matter. Councilwoman Peggy Karcher cast the no vote. Council members David Goldfarb and Mildred Trotman were absent from the meeting and Councilwoman Wendy Benchley left before the council discussed the issue around 11 p.m.
Mr. Wells said the troop is still considering approaching the council to reconsider its decision.