To the editor:
In contrast to Emory’s policies of inclusion and non-discrimination, the Boy Scouts have fought their way to the Supreme Court for the right to deny gay men leadership positions in their organization. In June the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Boy Scouts. This ruling is now at the center of controversies in areas as disparate as Ft. Lauderdale, Fla; Tempe, Ariz.; Eugene, Ore; New York state and across the nation.

As Emory’s United Way campaign gets under way, we hope to call the attention of the Emory community to the substantial financial contributions made by the United Way to the Boy Scouts. Elsewhere, efforts are under way to end the affiliation of these two organizations in protest at the Boy Scout's discriminatory practices.

Needless to say the United Way's contribution to the health and well being of many Americans is laudable. None-theless, as members of The President's Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns we are disturbed at the thought that the money we contribute will help to sustain an organization that has publicly committed itself to discriminating against gay people.
In hopes that we might be able to find a way to confine Emory’s United Way giving to groups other than the Boy Scouts, we met with a representative from Institutional Advancement.

In the course of this meeting we learned that there is a way, albeit cumbersome, to restrict our donations to particular organizations. In order to do this you must check the SPECIFIC CARE box on the contribution form under number 3.

The form suggests that you need to ask your campaign coordinator for a specific care card in order to exclude any group. In fact, United Way has provided a SPECIFIC CARE PLEDGE FORM in each packet. On this form you will see that you will have to provide a grantee code(s) to exclude an organization. The codes for the Boys Scouts are 112, 113, and 114.

We very much hope that our colleagues at Emory will recognize with us the need to withhold support from organizations, however noble their aims, that arbitrarily exclude categories of people from their ranks.

Luis Cosme, Amy Lang
President’s Commission
on LGBT Concerns