Boy Scouts see some funding losses as a result of prohibition on gay scout masters

In this story: Uniform returned in protest 'Kids are innocent bystanders' RELATED STORIES, SITES

NEW YORK, New York (CNN) -- Ned Bayrd was proud as a boy to wear his Boy Scouts uniform. He attained the highest rank possible: Eagle Scout.

Now, Bayrd says he wants no part of the organization. Bayrd is among the individuals and organizations upset over the Boy Scouts' policy excluding gays from serving as scout masters.

VIDEO CNN's Frank Buckley explains why some organizations are no longer funding the Boy Scouts Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     ALSO Timeline: U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Boy Scouts discrimination case

Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to uphold the Scouts' exclusion of gays, but the decision is proving controversial.

Uniform returned in protest

"I want no part of an organization that systematically discriminates against any group of would-be scouts," said Bayrd, who recently returned his uniform and Eagle Scout badge to the Boy Scouts in protest.

As a result of the Boy Scouts' policy on gays, funding and support have dried up in some sectors. Some charitable organizations, schools, cities, and corporate foundations have withdrawn financial support or at least distanced themselves from the Boy Scouts.

"For them, it's not the matter of the law so much as it's the matter of the right thing to do," said David Buckel, staff attorney for LAMBDA, a legal organization working for the civil rights of gays and people with HIV/AIDS.

A number of United Way of America chapters have pulled funding from local Boy Scouts councils, including those in Westchester and Putnam counties in New York.

"We believe we have some core principles that we have been telling our donors for years we operate within, and we want to remain faithful to all of our donors in applying them equally," said Ralph Gregory of the Westchester-Putnam County United Way.

'Kids are innocent bystanders'

It's the kids, however, who will be hurt by the loss of funds, says Paul Nordone, a Boy Scouts executive with the Westchester-Putnam Council. "Kids are innocent bystanders. They don't know gay from non-gay, but they suffer from this."

A spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America confirmed that funding for the organization had been withdrawn in some parts of the United States. But he says the actions have been scattered and have had no significant effect on the group.

CNN Correspondent Frank Buckley contributed to this report.

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Former Boy Scout says U.S. Supreme Court decision sends a message of intolerance
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High court allows Boy Scouts to exclude gays
June 28, 2000
Open To All Boys? The Boy Scouts And Gay Rights
April 20, 2000

Boy Scouts of America
Supreme Court of the United States
The Body: Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.
The United Way

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