Monday, January 28, 2013

Marriott, Boy Scouts and gay rights

Excerpts of Mormon-founded Marriott joins push against anti-gay marriage law, L.A. Times

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... One of the nation's leading gay-rights advocacy groups, the Human Rights Campaign, has formed a coalition of major companies calling for the repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.  

One of the first companies to join the effort was Marriott International Inc., which was founded by a devout Mormon, John Willard Marriott...  

"We are proud of our longstanding commitment to diversity, inclusion and equal treatment of all our employees within our benefits programs. ... Joining the business coalition for DOMA repeal affirms that commitment." ...
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Excerpts of Boy Scouts may mirror Mormon policy and let in gaysSalt Lake Tribune
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The Boy Scouts of America soon may allow openly gay members and leaders in its ranks, a move that could have a dramatic impact on the group's century-old relationship with its top sponsor: the Utah-based LDS Church.

The proposed change would allow religious and civic groups that sponsor Scout units to decide for themselves whether to continue excluding gays or let them join.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which got its Scouting charter in 1913, declined to comment Monday, saying it would be "inappropriate" to do so until the decision is announced after next week's BSA national board meeting.

The 14 million-member LDS Church has 420,977 youths in 37,882 Scouting units.

Mormons Building Bridges, a group of Latter-day Saints dedicated to conveying love and acceptance to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, has been "gathering stories of LDS units across the country who have quietly been disregarding the national [Scouting] policy for quite some time. They have been coming out of the closet lately, coaxed on by the church's launch of mormonsandgays.org and its clear edict of inclusion