Scout Jamborees on Federal Land OKd

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno ruled that a presidential order barring discrimination against gays does not prohibit the Boy Scouts of America from holding their Jamborees on federal land or general federal assistance to the group related to the gatherings. The Interior Department had sought Justice’s guidance about how President Clinton’s order might affect its dealings with the Scouts. The order prohibits bias on the basis of sexual orientation in federally conducted education and training programs. But Reno determined that “Boy Scout Jamborees are not federally conducted education or training programs.” The 90-year-old scouting organization has a ban on gays, which the Supreme Court recently refused by a 5-4 vote to overturn.