Tifton American Legion post to vote on dissolving Scout charter

TIFTON, Ga. — The home base for a Tifton Boy Scout troop planned a special called meeting today to decide whether to end 20-year relationship with the Boy Scouts of America following the organization’s decision to allow openly gay boys into its ranks.

Tifton American Legion Post 21 called a special meeting for today to weigh its charter with Boy Scout Troop 321, South Georgia Council Executive Matt Hart said.

“They sent a letter saying that that they’ve called a meeting to decide whether they want to continue to be the home for that troop,” Hart said.

A telephone number provided by the national American Legion organization for Post 21 in Tifton was disconnected Thursday.

Last week, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow openly gay youth to join the organization beginning next year. The decision has led to discussions from some faith-based organizations and others who provide a home base to scouts as to whether the ruling conforms with their respective moral values.

So far, Hart said the Tifton troop was the only one in the 29 county council that is facing dissolution of its charter over the decision.

“It would be our hope that people would understand that the ruling that came down last week didn’t advocate homosexuality, but instead, is meant to make sure that, the Boy Scouts of America pays no attention to sexuality at all — that all boys, regardless of what category they may be in, can be a part of the organization.”

If the group votes to dissolve the charter, Troop 62, which housed at a nearby Methodist Church, would accept any of the scouts who chose to remain in the organization, Hart said.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve faced some criticism,” Hart said. “Everyone thought it was the end of the world when scouting integrated. Everyone thought it was over when we allowed women to serve in leadership roles. This is just another issue we’ve had to overcome.”