ACLU: Give Boy Scouts the Boot

SAN DIEGO-The Boy Scouts will be hiking out of Balboa Park and FiestaIsland if the ACLU has its way.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit this weekseeking to evict the Scouts from city-owned property in the parkand on the island. They argue that the youth group can’t use publicproperty rent-free while continuing to discriminate against homosexuals.

The Boy Scouts of America, Desert Pacific Council, leases more than 15acres at the park near the San Diego Zoo for $1 a year. The 50-year lease expires in2007 and the organization is looking to renew for another 50 years. Thescouts have a similar arrangement on land for their aquatic center onFiesta Island.

Scout leaders say that the city will itself be discriminating if itkicks them out of the park, since it is just one of many groups withgenerous lease terms with the city. Local officials aren’t commenting on thelawsuit.

The US Supreme Court recently upheld the BSA’s right to bar homosexuals from being Scout leaders, turning away arguments from the ACLU and other gay-rights groups.