United Way of the Columbia-Willamette will continue funding the local Boy Scouts Council, despite the Scouts discrimination against gays.
Board members say they want to maintain a neutral position on divisive moral issues.
As Jeff Brady reports, the stand is consistent with a vote the board took in 1997 on funding agencies that perform abortions. The local United Way began exploring the Boy Scouts issue after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in June to allow the Scouts to continue its discrimination against gays. But local President Larry Norvell says several companies that contribute to United Way wanted to know the agency's position on the issue before deciding how much to donate. Norvell says after almost two hours of deliberation, the board chose to stick with its existing policy of not taking a stand on moral issues. If we want to take a stand on this moral issue, then how soon will it be before a new one is introduced to us and is United Way really qualified, as an organization, to make those kind of decisions for the community.