The City of Philadelphia and a local
Boy Scouts chapter have settled their legal dispute over gay rights,
the AP reported.
A federal jury in June ruled that the
city could not evict the Philadelphia chapter of the Boy Scouts,
known as the Cradle of Liberty Council, from a city-owned building
for refusing to admit gay members.
The city decided to terminate the
scout's nearly-free lease in 2007, insisting that nonprofits must
abide by local anti-discrimination laws, including an ordinance that
protects based on sexual orientation.
Under the settlement announced
Wednesday, the city will sell its stately Beaux Arts building for
less than half of its $1.1 million value to the group. In exchange,
the Scouts have agreed to forgive the nearly $1 million legal tab the
court ordered the city to pay.
“At the end of the day, the Boy
Scouts will be writing a check to the city, rather than the other way
around,” Jason Gosselin, an attorney for the Scouts, told the news
service. “This is a better solution than having to go through an
appeals process.”
In 2000, the Supreme Court agreed that
the Texas-based Boy Scouts of America, as a private group, can set up
their own rules.
The Cradle of Liberty Council faced
eviction after it refused to specifically repudiate the gay ban.