Repeal of Scout charter sought

WASHINGTON â€“ A small group of House lawmakers charging that the Boy Scouts' policy toward gays was a badge of intolerance moved Tuesday to repeal the group's federal charter. <br>The legislation

Wednesday, September 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON â€“ A small group of House lawmakers charging that the Boy Scouts' policy toward gays was a badge of intolerance moved Tuesday to repeal the group's federal charter.
The legislation was another challenge to the long-standing relationship between the Boy Scouts and the federal government rising out of the group's stance on excluding homosexuals. A vote on the bill, expected to be easily defeated, was likely Wednesday.

The bill's chief sponsor, Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., said she was a Girl Scout and one of her sons was a Boy Scout. "We're not saying the Boy Scouts are bad; we're saying that intolerance is bad," she said in introducing the measure earlier this summer.

"We're disappointed that this bill would even be considered," countered Boy Scouts spokesman Gregg Shields. A federal charter is an honor, he said, and "we hope to continue to live up to that honor."