Bank of America stops support of BSA - backlash ensues
Cross-posted from InclusiveScouting.net
According to an article from the Southern Voice, one of the LGBT community’s largest corporate sponsors, Bank of America, announced in April 2006 it would stop its corporate support of the Alapaha Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Georgia.
The Bank’s Charitable Foundation said it could not continue to support a discriminatory organization. Now, a Georgia state representative has submitted legislation that would bar the state from doing business with the Bank.
State Representative Earl Ehrhart says that the Bank is discriminating against the Boy Scouts of America. He also believes that the people of Georgia would not want the state to do business with a company or group which discriminates against the Scouts. Ehrhart has twice sponsored legislation which would have prevented the City of Atlanta from stopping business with private employers which discriminate against LGBT citizens.
According to the article:
Ehrhart (R-Powder Springs) and state Sen. John Wiles (R-Kennesaw) responded by promising to introduce legislation next year that would allow the state not to do business with Bank of America and other companies that legislators believe discriminate.
“I don’t think the citizens of Georgia would want their tax dollars going to a business that discriminates against the Boy Scouts of America,” said Wiles, who voted to support Ehrhart’s previous legislation to negate Atlanta’s Equal Benefits ordinance, which required city contractors to provide the same benefits to gay couples as married couples.
Ehrhart did not respond to interview requests by press time, and Bank of America spokesperson Alex Liftman declined comment on any possible legislation.
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation implemented its non-discrimination policy Jan. 1, 2006, after Bank of America merged with FleetBoston Financial, Liftman said.
Other corporations and charities have also severed ties with the Boy Scouts because of the group’s anti-gay policies, including several chapters of United Way. However, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta continues funding the Boy Scouts, including donating more than $1.1 million to three local chapters last year.
Bank of America has told the Boy Scout council that it would reconsider the group’s funding request if they were to “depart from the current discriminatory practices of the national organization.”
Matt, 22, is an LGBT journalist, activist and youth advocate currently living and working in Charlotte, N.C., where he serves as the Editor of Q-Notes, the Carolinas' LGBT news source. A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Matt attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is still continuing to pursue his bachelors degree. He is the Owner & Editor of InterstateQ.com and has been active in LGBT advocacy work since the age of 14.
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