Laguna Might End Scout Pact Because of Gay Ban : Policy: Explorer program’s provision conflicts with city’s anti-discrimination law.

Rekindling an unresolved dispute over gays, city leaders will consider whether to end an agreement with the Boy Scouts of America involving the organization’s police Explorer Scout program.

The issue, which surfaced in September, concerns the organization’s ban on openly homosexual people becoming members or advisers of the Explorer Scouts, a provision that conflicts with the city’s anti-discrimination law.

“The city must obey its own law,” City Councilman Robert F. Gentry said Wednesday. “This is one of the most important public policy decisions the city is going to make, because the Boy Scouts of America is a highly reputable organization and they have a tremendous amount of support, as they should, but they discriminate.”

Gentry raised the topic Tuesday night at a council meeting, refocusing attention on the dilemma that arose in September when Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. informed the Boy Scouts that his department would not comply with the group’s policy on homosexuals.

Currently, eight boys and girls participate in the Explorer Scout program that has operated in Laguna Beach since 1972. Purcell said the program teaches youths ages 14 through 21 to be good citizens while introducing them to “the law enforcement family.”

Laguna Beach, which has a large gay population, is the only city in Orange County with a law prohibiting discrimination based upon sexual orientation.

Responding to Purcell, the Boy Scouts of America threatened to dismantle the Explorer Scout program in Laguna Beach if the city knowingly violated the organization’s standards.

“I am upset the Boy Scouts of America have taken such an inflexible stand on this issue,” Purcell said.

Kent W. Gibbs, president of the Scouts’ Orange County Council, said Wednesday that the organization stands behind its earlier position.

“They filled out the charter papers and in doing so they agreed to abide by the rules of the Boy Scouts,” he said. Should the council decide to revoke the month-old agreement, Gibbs said the program would simply “cease to exist.”

When the Laguna Beach city charter came up for renewal last month, the agreement was resubmitted to the Boy Scouts, but with a letter saying Laguna Beach would not abide by the group’s ban on homosexuals.

However, Gentry, who is openly gay and a former Boy Scout, said he feels it is wrong for Laguna Beach to contract with a group that requires discrimination.

He recommended that the city consider retracting the agreement until a lawsuit over the issue is settled. That litigation involves the Boy Scouts and the El Cajon Police Department in San Diego County.

The council took no formal vote but referred the matter to city staff for review. The council is expected to reconsider the issue April 5.

Gibbs said he was disappointed in the city’s position, especially considering how the Scouts pitched in to help Laguna Beach recover from the fire in October.

“We had tremendous involvement, including the Police Explorers and the Fire Explorers,” he said. “Something like 60 different Cub Scout packs and Boy Scout troops from all cities in this county have been involved in cleanup, sandbagging and reclamation, to the point that our lead volunteer was recognized by the City Council for Scouting’s effort in helping the city and the city’s residents.”

This is not the first such dispute for the Boy Scouts of America.

In 1992, the organization fired an Explorer Scout leader when an El Cajon police officer revealed the leader was gay. El Cajon’s police chief would not replace the leader and that city’s agreement with the Boy Scouts expired.

The leader sued the Boy Scouts and the case is expected to go to trial soon.