Borough pushes local Scouts to amend policy

Almost six months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America has a constitutional right to ban homosexuals as members and troop leaders, communities nationwide are still coming to grips with the landmark decision.

Princeton — home to Boy Scout Troop 43 — is one of those communities.

For more than 50 years, members of Troop 43 have sold Christmas trees behind the Nassau Inn as part of their annual holiday fund-raising initiative.

But despite the Supreme Court's controversial decision, the troop has encountered unexpected resistance from Princeton Borough officials this time around.

Two weeks ago, troop leaders applied to Borough Council asking for two parking permits that would allow customers space to pick up and load their purchases.

"We had a request from the Boy Scouts as to whether we would give them two metered parking spaces on Chambers Street," Borough Mayor Marvin Reed said yesterday.

When the matter officially was brought before the Borough Council, however, Council member Ryan Lilienthal motioned to deny the request unless the Boy Scouts agreed to accept certain conditions.

"The use of those facilities would not be granted," Lilienthal said yesterday, "unless we knew [Troop 43] would agree not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation."

Lilienthal's motion — which also requested that troop leaders submit a statement of non-discrimination before being issued the permits — was seconded by Council president Roger Martindell and then ratified by a 2-1 vote.

Troop committee chair Nancy Shaw said it is, and will remain, virtually impossible for the troop to comply with Council demands.

"We could not provide that kind of statement because it would contravene national Boy Scout policy," Shaw said yesterday. If such a statement were issued, the troop likely would lose its charter from the Boy Scouts of America.

In demanding a statement in the first place, Shaw also said she believes the Council is accusing the troop of discriminatory behavior.

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"There can be no assertion that we [as an individual group] are discriminating," she said. "[The Borough] can't seem to distinguish between state troops and the national organization."

Tensions between the troop and Borough officials reached a high point Friday when The Princeton Packet published a letter written by Lilienthal.

In the letter, Lilienthal called the Boy Scouts an organization that "espouses intolerance" and suggested that issuing the permits would only "accommodate bigotry" in the Princeton community.

In response, Scoutmasters Garrett Brown, Marshall Freedman and Richard Smaus issued a statement yesterday that said the group has "never advocated discrimination against any person or group" nor assumed any role in the "implementation of national policy concerning homosexual scout leaders."

Whether this is enough to satisfy Council demands remains to be seen.

"They've asked the us to reconsider," Reed said, "and that will be discussed at the meeting next Tuesday."