I love the tension.
Even when groups opposing homosexuality have prevailed in
court, they have gone on to face other setbacks. The Boy Scouts of
America won a lawsuit in 2000 because it did not allow openly gay Scouts
or Scout leaders. Since then, some private charities have refused to
support the Scouts, and some local governments have yanked free use of
facilities and other benefits. In Philadelphia, the city is demanding
that the Scouts pay $200,000 in annual rent for a building that they had
been using rent-free. The dispute is in court (Salmon washingtonpost.com).
I love the tension that exists between the individual liberty to do as one wishes and the individual liberty to not be coerced by others' wishes. This example seems to express that but at a larger scale, dealing with institutions rather than individuals. Here the Boy Scouts got their wish to not allow gays in their institution, and that's fine: they are a private institution. However, they had been relying on public resources, a building the city of Philadelphia was providing. Philadelphia rightly reasoned that if the Boy Scouts is a private institution, not an institution dedicated to a public good, then it ought to pay like any other private institution. It underscores the point that you can't have your private discrimination and your public resources. You have to choose. And it's just a beautiful back and forth. I love the tension.
I love the tension that exists between the individual liberty to do as one wishes and the individual liberty to not be coerced by others' wishes. This example seems to express that but at a larger scale, dealing with institutions rather than individuals. Here the Boy Scouts got their wish to not allow gays in their institution, and that's fine: they are a private institution. However, they had been relying on public resources, a building the city of Philadelphia was providing. Philadelphia rightly reasoned that if the Boy Scouts is a private institution, not an institution dedicated to a public good, then it ought to pay like any other private institution. It underscores the point that you can't have your private discrimination and your public resources. You have to choose. And it's just a beautiful back and forth. I love the tension.