During the May 1999 BSA National Council meeting (San Diego), a proposed resolution was referred to the BSA Relationships Committee for review. The resolution called for a commission to study diversity in the BSA to be formed, representative of the different constituencies in Scouting (churches, schools, government, civic organizations, etc.), to explore the BSA membership requirements, given the Dale decision in New Jersey.

   This resolution proposed by The St. Paul MN Indian Head Council to revisit membership requirements for Boy Scouts. This council proposed "that the executive board of the National Council, BSA establish a representative commission to examine the relevance and appropriateness of the present membership requirements for traditional BSA programs and report its findings to the executive board in the year 2000. " Below is the text of that resolution and various media reports which followed.

BSA Proposed Resolution

Resolved, that the executive board of the National Council Boy Scouts of America, establish a representative commission to examine the relevance and appropriateness of the present membership requirements for traditional BSA programs and report its findings to the executive board in the year 2000.

Explanatory Statement

Since 1910 Scouting has served as a positive, unifying force, bringing together many faiths and viewpoints to fulfill a common mission: instilling the values of the Scout Oath and Law in young people.

Present membership standards for "traditional" BSA programs deny membership to any youth or leader who identifies himself or herself as homosexual. While there is no expressed requirement that a prospective Scout or Scout leader identify himself or herself as heterosexual, the current practice is to deny membership to any youth or adult who admits to homosexual orientation.

National administrative policy of the Boy Scouts interprets the provision of the Scout Oath requiring a Scout to be "morally straight" as being antithetical to homosexual orientation. In other words, according to present interpretations, a homosexual person cannot be "morally straight." Many others in the Scouting movement have interpreted these terms to refer to proper behavior rather than a definition of a person's sexual orientation. This interpretation holds that it is a person's behavior that should be assessed in determining whether one is "morally straight."

Many other youth organizations and charitable service groups, as well as business and government, base their employment or membership policies on standards of sexual *behavior* rather than on sexual *orientation*.

The chartering organizations of traditional BSA programs are a broad and diverse group. Many are religious institutions that proscribe homosexual orientation as immoral. Others proscribe homosexual conduct as immoral. Still others accept homosexual orientation as an existent condition within the general population. Many traditional chartered organizations, religious and secular, advocate maintaining existing membership requirements, as do many parents of Scouting youth.

The present Boy Scout membership policy is the subject of litigation. It is being challenged by both private and public institutions that historically have supported the Boy Scout program. Businesses and foundations that have been sources of substantial financial support have questioned the continuation of such a policy, and the United Way in some communities has withdrawn financial support or threatened to withdraw future backing.

This challenged to traditional BSA membership standards must be viewed in the context of fundamental Scout principles that urge us to value and respect human diversity and to defend the rights of others to practice their own beliefs.

Whether sexual orientation is an elective lifestyle or determined by genetic disposition (or both), is being debated in the medical and scientific professions and among religious leaders and sociologists. Information and knowledge on this issue is expanding rapidly. It is being examined at all levels of society--among private and public institutions, from business and industry to government and the military, from churches and synagogues to public schools and private colleges, from golf clubs to fraternal lodges and service clubs. In these circumstances, the BSA cannot avoid the challenge of such introspection.

It is the proponents' purpose in submitting this resolution to initiate a deliberative process whereby all traditional membership requirements will be examined, where positions will be studied and recommendations made to sustain a robust BSA program for future generations.

It is the proponents' view that without such a deliberative process, membership standards may ultimately be dictated by the courts or by the most powerful or most vocal among BSA's constituencies. Further delay in addressing this issue may result in the diminution of Scouting's leadership as one of the nation's most effective character -building programs for youth.

Implementation Suggestions

Following are suggestions for the composition and operation of the commission. These suggestions should not be construed to in any way limit or restrict the National Council, BSA in establishing its own criteria for the commission or to in any way limit the commission from establishing its own procedural rules:

1. The commission should consist of representatives from various BSA constituencies, particularly those which have had sustained involvement in the traditional program.

2. Membership on the commission should consist of men and women in leadership positions in business, government, professions and such other persons the board deems appropriate.

3. The commission should examine the consequences of maintaining present membership requirements upon chartered organizations, future financial support, public school cooperation, use of public facilities for meetings and camping, United Way support and such other issues the commission may deem appropriate.

4. The commission should examine the scientific and medical basis for the determination of sexual orientation and the effect of homosexual orientation upon youth in dealing with their own sexuality. It should seek objective expert opinions and review available medical and scientific literature and current religious doctrine.

5. The commission should examine the moral and religious basis for defining homosexuality as a moral issue and the effect upon BSA if homosexuals are admitted into membership.

The commission should be staffed with personnel from the National BSA Office and an appropriate budget should be appropriated for meeting and travel expense and other expenses incidental to its work

Boy Scouts' top officials launch study of homosexuality
By JENNIFER LEVITZ
Providence Journal Staff Writer

August 14, 1999

Even as the Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed this week its policy to ban homosexuals, policy makers at the national organization are launching a major study into what makes a person gay, The Journal has learned.

Over the next year, a 12-member national Boy Scout panel, which includes some of the country's most influential businessmen, will review ``the scientific and medical basis for the determination of sexual orientation.''

The study will essentially determine whether the Boy Scouts' membership policy should be based on sexual orientation, as it is now, or instead on standards of sexual behavior.

The top executives of the national Boy Scouts organization approved a resolution authorizing the study at their annual national council meeting in May, scout officials at headquarters in Irving, Texas, confirmed yesterday, after The Journal obtained a copy of the two-page resolution.

The resolution outlines the reasons for the study and how it will be conducted, and lists the evidence that Boy Scout officials will examine. It does not, however, detail that evidence except to say that expert witnesses and medical literature will be consulted.

The executive board, led by Edward E. Whitacre Jr., president of Southwestern Bell, will review findings from the study next year and ultimately decide whether to change Boy Scout policy or reaffirm it.

The study comes in the face of a slew of legal battles over the organization's long-standing membership policy, which excludes homosexuals, atheists and agnostics.

Last week alone, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts' anti-gay policy is unconstitutional. Then the issue hit home in Rhode Island when a 16-year-old Eagle Scout said he was refused a job at Camp Yawgoog, a premier Boy Scout camp, because he is gay.

In the resolution, Scout leaders concede that such conflicts may be hurting the image of scouting, a tradition-filled institution considered by many to be a rite of passage for young males since it was formed in 1910.

``Further delay in addressing this issue may result in the diminution of scoring's leadership as one of the nation's most effective character-building programs for youth,'' the resolution states.

According to the plan, the study will focus on three main areas:

``The moral and religious basis for defining homosexuality as a moral issue'' and the effect upon the Boy Scouts of America if homosexuals are admitted as members.

The ``scientific and medical basis for the determination of sexual orientation and the effect of homosexual orientation upon youth in dealing with their own sexuality.'' The study should consult expert opinions, current medical and scientific literature, and religious doctrine, the resolution states.

The consequences of the policies, such as the loss of financial support by an increasing number of public agencies and sponsors, such as the United Way.

WHILE CONFIRMING the study, a national Boy Scout spokesman said yesterday that the Boy Scouts are simply opening up a topic for discussion, as they often do. He didn't say who brought the resolution to the floor, but said a resolutions committee approved the document, and then sent it along to a ``relationships committee,'' which will conduct the study.

``All this shows is that there are six million people who are members of the Boy Scouts and that not everyone agrees with all of our policies,'' said national spokesman Gregg Shields. ``It shows that we're a democratic organization and that we listen to ideas.''

But the resolution questions the sacred Boy Scout oath. Boy Scout leaders have long argued that a provision in the oath that requires a Scout to be ``morally straight'' is antithetical to homosexuality.

The resolution, however, concedes that many in the scouting community ``interpret those terms to refer to proper behavior,'' not sexual orientation.

But what's tricky about embarking on such a study is that churches are the largest single sponsors of scouting, with the United Methodist Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- the Mormon church -- each sponsoring 12 percent of troops nationwide, according to statistics from the Boy Scout headquarters.

In fact, of the top 16 sponsors, 8 of them are churches.

``Many are religious organizations that proscribe homosexual orientation as immoral,'' the resolution states. ``Still others accept homosexual orientation as an existent condition within the general population.''

The Mormon church declined comment on the resolution yesterday, saying it hadn't reviewed it yet. But it released a statement affirming its opposition to homosexuality.

``Our hearts reach out to those who struggle with feelings of affinity for the same gender,'' church president Gordon B. Hinckley said in a statement. ``However, we cannot condone immoral practices on your part any more than we can condone immoral practices on the part of others.''

In Rhode Island, Anthony Gibbs, an official from the Narragansett Council, which represents troops throughout the state and parts of Connecticut, said only that the organization supports current Boy Scout policy.

State Boy Scout leaders came under fire last week when they admitted they asked an Eagle Scout if he was gay just as they dismissed him from the staff at Camp Yawgoog.

Under criticism, state and national officials reaffirmed their policy against gays, but said the openly gay teen could remain a scout and work at Camp Yawgoog because scout officials went against policy in asking him about his sexual orientation.

In other words: Don't ask, don't tell.

The Boy Scout resolution adopted in May states that many organizations, from the military to private colleges to fraternal lodges, have looked at the issue of homosexuality.

But not all have taken the same route.

The Girl Scouts have no policies excluding gays or any other groups, said James Randall, a Los Angeles-based civil rights attorney, who's argued several Scout-related discrimination cases.

Randall said the Boy Scouts won't change their policies, mainly because of supporters such as the Mormon church.

``It would be great if that actually happened, but I think this is window dressing,'' he said. ``They're just doing it to appease some angry groups -- they'll never change.''

Scout controversy is a chance for you to make an impact

By M. CHARLES BAKST
Providence Journal Staff Writer
August 17, 1999

News item: A panel of the Boy Scouts of America will spend the next year studying such issues as what makes a person homosexual, perhaps prefatory to the organization's ending its policy against gays as members or leaders.

Hmm -- possibly, at some point, maybe, the policy might change. I suppose some people call this progress.

You can make things complicated and spend a year studying anything. Myself, I don't think it should take more than a minute to see, recognize and vow to erase discrimination.

The sooner the Scouts have that moment, the better. Individual citizens can help by acting for justice.

I refer, for instance, to business moguls who contribute corporate funds or otherwise help raise money for the Scouts. But I refer also to rank-and-file employees who can approach their bosses with questions about this participation.

It was a jolt to read a Journal story by Jennifer Levitz that the United Way and other donors in Rhode Island who annually funnel millions to the Scouts say that while they disagree with the organization's ban, they have no plans to cut off financial support.

There have been some moves around the country to stand up to the Scouts. But here, a United Way aide said, ``We're not moral arbiters.'' A Fleet aide said, ``We try not to focus on their discriminatory practices, but on the good they do.'' Spokesmen for churches and police, who have close ties with the Scouts, also bit their tongues.

Maybe we should be moral arbiters and focus, at least for a moment, on the discrimination.

Spare me talk about what fine work the Scout organization does in shaping citizens. I know it. That's why it's so crucial for gays to feel welcome, so they can gain from what the Scouts offer. By the same token, when the Scouts discriminate, they may, however unintentionally, be nurturing among their youngsters a strand of bigotry. These kids will some day be in teaching and other influential roles.

An enterprise that discriminates doesn't deserve financial aid or such logistical help as facilities for meetings. If, while the gay ban lasts, business and community leaders, private or governmental, cut off support, they'd be acting on principle. People who work in companies, or belong to or support churches or other organizations that make Scout programs possible, need to review their positions.

It is not enough to say, ``Well, we don't discriminate,'' or `` We welcome gays.'' To see discrimination elsewhere but to ignore it is to tacitly condone and perpetuate it.

We must speak up and ask, ``What are we doing? If we don't immediately end support, can't we find some way to have an impact ?'' Perhaps we need such declarations of conscience as public statements of outrage by community leaders. Perhaps those in whose schools or other buildings Scouts hold their activities should set a date certain for the Scouts to change policy or face eviction.

I asked Providence Journal publisher Howard Sutton about the issue of corporate money. He said the company has donated to the Scouts . But the gay controversy gives him pause. He is struck by the organization's basing its policy on a 1910 oath saying Scouts must be ``morally straight.''

Sutton said, ``In my opinion, `morally straight' should not exclude gays from being in the Scouts.''

As for the idea of no longer giving financial support to the organization, Sutton said, ``We're going to wait and see what happens locally and as the New Jersey Supreme Court opinion continues to work its way through the legal system.'' This was a reference to a decision in favor of a former assistant scoutmaster who was kicked out of the BSA nine years ago when Scout leaders found out he was gay. A recent Journal editorial called the Scout policy ``morally wrong.''

Mr. and Ms. Rhode Island, you know it is morally wrong.

What will you do about it

Court challenges spur plan for study on homosexuality
By Larry D. Hatfield - SF Examiner
August 18, 1999

Even as it prepares to defend its anti-gay policies in the US. Supreme Court, Boy Scouts of America is quietly considering a study into what causes homosexuality and whether it should change its 89-year-old practice of excluding gays.

Conceding that increasing legal and public attacks on the Boy Scouts' anti-gay stance is hurting the image of scouting, the BSA relationships committee will consider in October whether to launch the year-long study.

The study was proposed by the Minnesota Boy Scout council at the Scouts' national council meeting in San Diego in May. The resolution called for the BSA National Council's executive board to establish ""a representative commission to examine the relevance and appropriateness of the present membership requirements'' and to review ""the scientific and medical basis for the determination of sexual orientation.''

""Further delay in addressing this issue may result in the diminution of scoring's leadership as one of the nation's most effective character-building programs for youth,'' the resolution said in part.

The resolution also warned that if BSA itself fails to act, decisions on membership standards ""may ultimately be dictated by the courts or by the most powerful or most vocal among BSA's constituencies.''

The executive board, led by Council President Edward E. Whitacre Jr., will review the committee's findings next spring and decide whether to discard or affirm scoring's anti-gay position. Whitacre is chairman and chief executive officer of San Antonio-based SBC Communications, which includes San Francisco's Pacific Telesis.

""We have not embarked on a study of homosexuality,'' Gregg Shields, spokesman for BSA national headquarters in Irving, Texas, said Wednesday. ""This was a resolution that was read at the national meeting .‚.‚. The resolution was forwarded to committee and that's where it stands today. The board has not taken any vote on it.''

Court ruling against BSA

The proposed study would come as the controversy over the organization's anti-gay practices and legal challenges to them continue to mount.

The New Jersey Supreme Court two weeks ago unanimously ruled against the Scouts for dismissing Eagle Scout-turned-scoutmaster James Dale after discovering he was gay. The Scouts plan to appeal the decision to the US. Supreme Court.

Last week, a Chicago judge ordered the Boy Scouts to stop barring gay applicants in hiring decisions.

At Rhode Island's Camp Yawgoog, one of the nation's premier Scout camps, a scoutmaster was kicked out after using Dale's photograph for target practice on the camp's rifle range.

Shields said the scoutmaster ""has been removed from the camp and his future in scouting is to be determined.''

The Scouts also refused to give a gay Eagle Scout his summer job back at the camp, but relented when the teenager filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Human Rights Commission.

The Boy Scouts' study, if approved, would focus on three issues: the moral and religious basis for defining homosexuality as a moral issue; the scientific and medical basis for the determination of sexual orientation and its effect on youth in dealing with their own sexuality; and the consequences of current policies, such as the loss of financial support from United Way, public schools and other sponsors and contributors.

If definitive, the study would go to the core of the Scouts' long-held belief that the ""morally straight'' requirement in the Boy Scout oath means a Scout can't be gay. But the resolution conceded that many in the scouting community view the morally straight requirement to refer to behavior, not sexual orientation.

Whichever way the organization lands, it will offend key supporters on one side or another.

Chartering organizations

The explanatory statement accompanying the BSA resolution outlined the organization's quandary: ""The chartering organizations of traditional BSA programs are a broad and diverse group. Many are religious institutions that proscribe homosexual orientation as immoral. Others proscribe homosexual conduct as immoral. Still others accept homosexual orientation as an existent condition within the general population.

""Many traditional chartered organizations, religious and secular, advocate maintaining existing requirements as do many parents of Scouting youth.''

Others obviously don't.

""If this is a real effort to redefine (membership requirements) in terms of up-to-date scientific knowledge (and) the real religious understandings of the issue, then I think it's going to be a good thing,'' said Dave Rice, of Petaluma, president of Scouting for All, an advocacy group for more inclusive membership policies.

""It could be a very good thing. But if it's just a whitewash where the Boy Scouts have predetermined what the outcome will be, then we're nowhere.''

On the other hand, half of BSA's major sponsors are church groups, including the United Methodist Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. The Mormons sponsor 12 percent of the Boy Scout troops in the nation.

""Our hearts reach out to those who struggle with feelings of affinity for the same gender,'' Mormon President Gordon B. Hinckley said in a church statement on Monday. ""However, we cannot condone immoral practices on your part any more than we can condone immoral practices on the part of others.''

Church spokesmen would not comment further, saying they had not seen the resolution.

The proposed 12-member study panel would include both male and female leaders in business, government, the professions and others.

Boy Scouts may study gay issue
Critics say action linked to increased opposition
08/20/99
By Frank Trejo
The Dallas Morning News

In the thick of a growing debate over its policy of banning gays, Irving-based Boy Scouts of America is considering a proposal to examine membership requirements, specifically those related to homosexuality.

People on both sides expressed doubts about the usefulness of such a venture. And critics said they find the timing of the proposal interesting because the anti-gay policy is facing increasing opposition.

Scout officials confirmed Thursday that the proposal contains a provision for a study of what determines sexual orientation, but they emphasized that no decision has been made on whether to even do such a study. And they contend most members support the current policy.

"At this point, this is nothing more than a resolution that the national council received in May and has referred to the relationships committee," said Gregg Shields, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts.

He said the committee has until next year to act on the resolution, either by rejecting, accepting or amending it.

"We are hearing overwhelming support for the existing policy," Mr. Shields said. "Some people have made it sound like we're embarking on a study of homosexuality tomorrow, and that's just not the case."

Mike Montalvo, a gay former Boy Scout in Dallas, said he believes the proposal is significant, given recent developments.

"I think it's a very large step for the Boy Scouts to even consider doing that," said Mr. Montalvo, a computer support technician who has an Internet Web site that monitors the controversy.

"I think they're caught between a rock and hard place because they've been doing lots of dances with different organizations."

Timing defended

Mr. Shields said there is nothing unusual about the timing of the proposal and, in fact, similar resolutions have been considered in the past but never acted upon by the committee.

"As a democratic organization of 6 million people, the Boy Scouts has a responsibility to listen to such resolutions, and if someone wants to offer such a resolution, they are certainly within their rights as a member to do so," Mr. Shields said.

He confirmed that the resolution calls for the establishment of a commission to "examine the relevance and appropriateness of the present membership requirements for traditional BSA programs."

But he declined to discuss details of how this would be done.

A copy of explanatory material on Mr. Montalvo's Web site indicates that the resolution recommends that the commission look at the consequences of present membership requirements on chartered organizations.

It also suggests examining the effect on financial support, public school cooperation, use of public facilities for meetings and camping, and United Way support.

The material notes that the Boy Scout oath requires a scout to be "morally straight," and current interpretations find that "a homosexual person cannot be 'morally straight.' "

It also recommends that the commission "seek objective expert opinions and review available medical and scientific and religious doctrine."

The resolution material, in part, states: "Further delay in addressing this issue may result in the diminution of Scouting's leadership as one of the nation's most effective character-building programs for youth."

Impact denied

Mr. Montalvo said the document was obtained from the Internet. Mr. Shields declined to verify the authenticity of the material, saying that the proposal is a long way from becoming reality. He said he disagrees that there has been any negative impact on scouting because of the gay-membership issue.

"The Boy Scouts of America is doing an excellent job, and the growth we've seen in the last few years shows that parents agree," Mr. Shields said.

Mr. Montalvo said he believes some sponsoring organizations, including some religious denominations, are struggling with whether to continue to support the Boy Scouts in light of the anti-gay policy.

Mr. Montalvo said the United Methodist Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sponsor almost 25 percent of all Boy Scouts.

While the United Methodist Church has experienced great internal debate on the issue of gays, the Mormon church has staunchly opposed homosexuality.

The United Methodist general secretary's office did not respond to calls Thursday. A representative from the Mormon church had no comment, saying it would be "speculative."

Court rulings

Meanwhile, just this month, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the dismissal of an assistant scout leader, James Dale, because he is gay violated the state's anti-discrimination laws.

And a week later, a Chicago judge ordered the Boy Scouts to stop barring gay applicants in hiring decisions.

The Boys Scouts have said they will appeal both court decisions.

Evan Wolfson, senior attorney for Lambda Legal Defense, a gay-rights organization, said he is not too optimistic about the possibility of a proposed Boy Scouts study of homosexuality.

"What they're trying to do now is bring in lawyers to dress up their policy of discrimination that the court has already said is not why the members came into this organization in the first place," Mr. Wolfson said.

"They're trying to determine how to best do a PR spin to justify a policy of discrimination the members never chose."

But Charles Holmes, a Dallas scoutmaster and parent of Boy Scouts, said he strongly supports the policy against admitting gays.

"Members have joined the program with the knowledge that the national office has taken a position that homosexual behavior is incompatible with the Boy Scouts," Mr. Holmes said.

"If they change that policy, a lot of people would have to re-evaluate their membership . . . and whether or not having openly gay people work with their sons or be part of the program is something they would want.

"A whole lot of them would say no."

Scouts dragging feet on gay policy review
By JENNIFER LEVITZ
Journal Staff Writer - Providence Journal
March 24, 2000

SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- It looked good on paper.

Facing the threat of losing contributions from major donors, the Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America, in November sent its national parent organization a two-page resolution asking it to review a 90-year-old policy that bans homosexuals.

But several months later, the resolution -- which followed a similar one sent by a Minnesota Boy Scouts council -- appears to be stagnant, not the forceful call for change that community leaders had hoped.

State Boy Scout officials say that since they sent the resolution, the national organization has not contacted them once. They admit that they haven't followed up on the resolution either.

And David Anderson, the new executive director for the Narragansett Council, has said that the general feeling is that national Boy Scout executives won't take any action until a ruling this summer by the US. Supreme Court on the Boy Scouts' appeal of the James Dale case -- in which the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the Scouts' barring of a gay troop leader violated the state's anti-discrimination laws. The ruling could decide whether the Boy Scouts are a private organization that can let in whomever it wants.

The Boy Scouts have contended that their decision to ban homosexuals is rooted in a 1910 oath, stated on page 46 of the Boy Scout handbook. Scouts vow to ``keep myself morally straight.''

Yesterday, a representative from Scouting For All, a national group dedicated to changing the Boy Scout policy with a petition drive that has so far collected 50,000 signatures, said the vaguely worded Rhode Island resolution was likely a way to smooth ties with the United Way and other supporters who were upset over an incident at Camp Yawgoog in August.

National attention focused on the pristine Hopkinton camp when a camp director told a 17-year-old Eagle Scout that he couldn't return to a full-time job on the same day that the director asked him if he was gay. The Scout had answered yes.

After the youth filed a complaint with the state Human Rights Commission, and staff members staged a sit-in in his support, the scouting organization offered him his job back.

Scott Pusillo, a spokesman for Scouting for All, came to the University of Rhode Island as part of a four-day symposium to explore spirituality and sexuality. He loves scouting, he said, except ``this one thing.''

He said in an interview that ``in my heart,'' he wants to believe that Rhode Island Scouts feel that the policy against gays is wrong, but that in reality, he thinks the resolution was done ``in pacification.''

``They never said: `We think this is wrong,' '' said Pusillo, an openly gay troop leader who says he hasn't been kicked out of his New Jersey troop because of the James Dale case. ``They could have done more than write one simple little letter. They could have tried to have open communication. They could have taken a stand.''

In November, as the United Way was threatening to cut off support if Scout policy didn't change, and the Rhode Island Council of Churches, which sponsors more than 100 troops, applied pressure, the 40-member executive board of the Narragansett Council unanimously passed a resolution that seconded one sent to the national organization last year by the Indian Head Council, of St. Paul, Minn.

The Minnesota resolution called for the Boy Scouts of America to form a committee to study the ban on gays, and to report back this year. The resolution passed one committee, and now sits in the relationship committee, which reviews membership standards. The committee will not speak publicly about its actions, national Boy Scout spokesman Gregg Shields said yesterday.

Pusillo said he believes that the policy on gays has not yet been studied.

``This formation of a committee, in my view, it's just a public relations ploy,'' he said. ``They're thinking, `we'll just satisfy the United Way and these two councils . . .''

The Rhode Island resolution called for the national organization to conduct the review in a ``timely and forthright manner.''

Yesterday, Peter Reid, spokesman for the executive board of the Narragansett Council, said he believes the resolution is ``headed for discussion'' at the Boy Scouts of America national meeting in Nashville, Tenn., in May. But the board has not talked to national executives since it sent the resolution, Reid said. Reid was not sure who at the national Boy Scout headquarters had the document now.

``We have not heard anything from them, or contacted them about it, but we didn't expect to,'' he said. ``That's normal.''

He expects that it went to the national policy making executive board, though he is not sure.

``That's where it was aimed certainly,'' he said.

The forum for such debate, he said, is at the national meeting.

``To try to push or cajole something prior to that would be premature,'' he said.

He said that anyone who thinks the Narragansett Council isn't moving fast enough to coax national Scouts doesn't understand the dynamics of an organization with a volunteer policy making board. Pushing them, he said, ``is not the way to work the business.''

The Minnesota council also has not heard about the status of its resolution, Indian Head executive director John Andrew said yesterday.

``I've heard that it has not been shelved, but they tend to keep a lid on the discussion process,'' he said.

Andrew said it would be ``fairly common sense'' for national Scouts to wait until the Supreme Court ruling on the James Dale case.

``If we were to implement a policy change at this time, and then the Supreme Court sends us off in a different direction, it would be a waste of time,'' he said.

In the New Jersey Supreme Court's ruling last summer, justices said that Scout organizations are a public accommodation because they form partnerships with fire departments, police departments, and other public entities. Therefore, the court said, they cannot discriminate.

The US. Supreme Court agreed on Jan. 14 to hear the Boy Scouts appeal next month.

Anderson, of the Narragansett Council, told Providence Journal columnist M. Charles Bakst recently that the state Scouts figure that the national organization is waiting for the courts to tell it what to do.

Mormon and Methodist churches together are the largest sponsor of Boy Scout troops. But the United Way is the largest financial contributor to the organization. The United Way of Southeastern New England annually donates $200,000 to the Narragansett Council, and allows thousands of people to direct donations to the Scouts through United Way fundraising programs.

Because of the Boy Scout policy, the United Way has pulled its financing in San Francisco, New Haven, Conn., and Portland, Maine.

In November, the Southeastern United Way commended the Rhode Island Scouts for sending the resolution, but warned that it might cut financing if the national group doesn't follow up on its pledge to study the policy.

The United Way wouldn't say yesterday how it viewed the state Scouts' progress so far, but it is, along with the council on churches, inviting the Boy Scouts to a forum on diversity and gay issues in the late spring, according to Steve Conners, a United Way spokesman.

In the meantime, Anderson is focusing on expanding Rhode Islanders' participation in a quasi-scouting program called ``Learning for Life.'' The classroom curriculum is offered to schools by Scouts and is designed to teach ethics and self-esteem. Participants aren't required to be Scouts or follow Scout policies. National Scout leaders have described the program as a way to increase participation in scouting, while protecting traditional scouting programs from legal challenges.

Several troops nationwide, including a couple in Rhode Island, are adopting their own anti-discrimination policies, Pusillo said.

Barrington Cub Scout leader Cindy Capra wrote a letter in protest of the policy against gays, and asked as many people as she could to send it to the national Scouts in Texas.

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